What are the reasons why teeth show their roots?

The structure of teeth is very complex, and there are many types of teeth in people's mouths. If the teeth are not good-looking, they can easily be exposed when talking, which greatly affects the appearance. For some people, their tooth roots are exposed when they speak. This situation is mainly related to the growth of teeth, so you must pay attention to conditioning and prevention. So what are the specific reasons why teeth show their roots?

1. Alveolar bone

First of all, the roots of the teeth do not grow directly on the alveolar bone (gum). There is a thick layer of gum tissue between them. This part of the gum is called "periodontal tissue" by modern oral medicine (perhaps it would be more vivid to call it inner gum). The periodontal tissue and alveolar bone are tightly wrapped by the outer gum. Therefore, the connection between teeth and alveolar bones is actually a joint relationship, which is a micro-motion joint (with a small range of motion) in the human body. Therefore, even if the teeth are strong and healthy, there will be a feeling of slight movement when touched by hand.

2. Bone resorption

The alveolar bone basically relies on the gum tissue that wraps it for nourishment. When the gums age and shrink, the ability to transport nutrients to the alveolar bone decreases, and the alveolar bone shrinks and becomes shorter. This is called "bone resorption phenomenon" in oral medicine. Gum atrophy causes the wrapping and maintaining strength of this "micro-motion joint" to decrease, and the teeth begin to loosen. At the same time, the alveolar bone is absorbed, making the tooth roots shallower and the teeth longer. As the bone absorption phenomenon becomes more and more severe, the teeth naturally fall off.

3. Others

On the other hand, after the gums shrink, they can no longer tightly wrap the tooth roots as before, resulting in the exposure of the periodontal tissue (inner gums). Various bacteria in the mouth (especially anaerobic bacteria) and dental tartar directly invade the periodontal tissue and cause periodontitis. Periodontitis will in turn aggravate gum recession and accelerate the absorption of alveolar bone, forming a vicious cycle. The result is not only the destruction of gums and teeth, but more seriously, it threatens physical health. Since current oral medicine believes that gum recession cannot be reversed, periodontitis cannot be cured, so it is listed by the World Health Organization as the third largest killer threatening human health.