A. Hello A.F.B, Gum recession is something that I see a lot of in everyday dentistry and you are right, tooth brush abrasion caused by excessive pressure when brushing can cause gum recession, other factors such as diet, smoking and acidic foods can contribute to this process. If patients are brshing too hard we often recommend an electric tooth brush and also an education session with our hygiensit where she will show you the correct brushing and cleaning techniques to avoid causing further damage. Unfortunately there is not a lot that you can do in order to “reverse” the gum recession process and this is why it is important to address the cause immediately. One solution to your recession would be to perform a gum graft, where soft tissue is grafted over the area of recession, we have a gum specialist (periodontist) at our practice that caries out such treatments. The gum tissue for the graft can either be taken from your palate or we can use an artificial substitute. I would also recommend using a special tooth paste for sensitive teeth such as sensodyne which you can buy from mosts dentists or chemists. We can also cover the exposed sensitive part of your tooth with a filling type material.
I hope this helps