Gum recession affects mothers, fathers, and children alike. In fact, did you know that gum recession can affect children as young as 7 years of age? Thankfully, pediatric dentists and other family dentists can help.
Receding gums happen when the tissue around the teeth pull back, resulting in exposing an increased area of the tooth’s root. This causes your teeth to be vulnerable and can have embarrassing effects if left untreated.
Recession in the gums may also cause an open area between the teeth and the gum line, making them more susceptible to diseases by creating a build-up in bacteria, plaque, and ultimately tartar. This can majorly damage the bone structure of your mouth, harm tissue, and can cause tooth loss.
How Can I Determine if My Gums are Receding?
Gum recession symptoms typically go unnoticed, although it is not an uncommon issue to have. Some of the symptoms you will initially notice are:
- Sudden sensitivity on teeth
- Teeth appear larger than usual
- Abnormal groove or texture on the gumline
If you have noticed any of these first symptoms of receding gum lines, please make an appointment with our McAllen pediatric dentists as soon as you can.
How is Gum Recession Treated?
While gum recession can not be reversed on its own, it can be managed and treated for the prevention of worsening the gum line. A recession in your gum line has a variety of causes that stem from poor oral hygiene.
But ultimately, the cause of receding gum lines varies and treatment depends on the reason for the recession.
Minor Gum Recession
If you or your children brush aggressively — or on the contrary, don’t brush at all — you are at risk of deteriorating your gum line. Visiting a dental hygienist at Heroes Dental can give you tips on how to properly brush and obtain good oral hygiene, but you generally want to brush twice a day, two minutes each, and floss at least once.
Mild Gum Recession
Gum recession can cause pockets between your teeth and the gum line. This can cause gum diseases like gingivitis to evolve rapidly. This can easily be treated with a deep cleaning treatment called “scaling and root planing”. This treatment cleans out plaque and tartar build-up before it develops into a serious matter.
Serious Gum Recession
Gum grafting is a procedure done for those who have serious gum recession, and only under special circumstances with properly-trained professionals. Gum grafting removes gum tissue from a different area in the mouth and binds it to the area around the tooth where gum tissue has receded. After the procedure and healing, the tooth is once again protected instead of being exposed and will regain a more natural look. Talk with our pediatric dentist to see if this procedure is right for your child.
McAllen Pediatric Dentists are Here to Keep Your Children’s Gums Healthy
The McAllen pediatric dentists at Heroes Dental care about our children, and like any good sidekick, we want to give them all the information they need to combat the little bugs that cause gum disease and recession. Every hero knows that oral hygiene is important, and brushing and flossing regularly can say goodbye to receding gum lines that cause diseases, tooth loss, and their beautiful smiles.