What to do if gums shrink and tooth roots are exposed? Guide to quick recovery

The phenomenon of gingival recession (gingival recession) has become increasingly common. At the same time, the complications caused by gingival recession have caused more and more pain to people. For example, exposed tooth roots often make the exposed tooth poles abnormally sensitive to temperature changes between hot and cold and acidic foods, and irritation and pain often occur. What should we do then?

Since gingival recession is always accompanied by the absorption of the underlying alveolar bone, once the gums recede, except for a few affected teeth that can have part of the exposed root surface covered by membranous gingival surgery, most of the gingival recession is difficult to regenerate and restore to its original height. Therefore, care should be taken to prevent gingival recession.

Small, uniform amounts of gum recession are usually asymptomatic and require no treatment.

If gingival recession continues to progress, the cause should be identified and eliminated (for example, changing brushing habits, adjusting orthodontic force, correcting poor restorations, etc.) to avoid further aggravation of gingival recession.

In addition, symptomatic treatment should be given to the complications of gingival recession: for teeth with sensitive root surfaces, local stimulation should be reduced (avoid ingesting too cold or too hot food, brushing teeth with warm water, etc.), and desensitizing toothpaste should be used for desensitization; for a few patients whose symptoms seriously affect their eating, sodium fluoride paste (or % sodium fluoride solution) can be applied locally, fluoride-containing mineral solution can be used for gargling, etc. There is no special treatment for horizontal food impaction, so attention should be paid to timely cleaning. Dental floss and toothpicks can be used to clean the adjacent surfaces of teeth; teeth with root caries should be filled and treated in time.

If periodontal atrophy is obvious, especially when the labial side of the front teeth is involved in the labiocheir frenulum or the tissue at the mucogingival transition site, mucogingival surgery can be used to change the position of the gingival tissue and reduce the exposed surface of the tooth root.