Quick answer
Gums recede for two main reasons: mechanical wear (hard brushing, grinding, sometimes orthodontic history or thin natural tissue) and gum disease dissolving support. Receded gum does not grow back, so treatment is halting progression: correct brushing technique, treating gum disease where present, a night splint for grinders, and desensitising or bonding over exposed roots that zing. Gum grafting can rebuild coverage for selected worsening or symptomatic cases. Recession with bleeding, looseness or bad breath points to gum disease and needs periodontal assessment promptly.
First, which kind is yours?
- Wear recession: typically at the 'corners' of prominent teeth, gums otherwise pink and firm, no bleeding. The usual engines: scrubbing with a hard brush, clenching and grinding, thin inherited tissue, and occasionally piercings or snuff/vaping held in one spot.
- Disease recession: gums that bleed, breath that's persistently off, sometimes looseness; the gum is retreating because the bone under it is dissolving. This is periodontitis, it's the urgent kind, and treating it is what stops the retreat.
Stopping the slide
- Rehabilitate the brushing: soft brush, light grip (hold it like a pen), small circles at 45 degrees, and let the bristles do the work. Electric brushes with pressure sensors genuinely help scrubbers
- Treat the grinding: flexing teeth under nightly load stresses the gum margins; a night splint takes the load off
- Treat the disease where that's the driver: professional cleaning below the gumline, then maintenance; recession stabilises when the inflammation stops
- Protect the exposed roots: they have no enamel, so they feel temperature and decay faster than crowns of teeth. Desensitising varnish, high-fluoride toothpaste and sometimes a thin bonding layer cover the practical problems; see sensitive teeth
The graft question, honestly
Gum grafting (moving or adding tissue over an exposed root) genuinely works in the right case: recession that keeps progressing, roots that stay sensitive despite everything, or front-tooth appearance that bothers you. It's precise minor surgery with a recovery week, done by periodontists we refer to and trust. It is not a default; most recession, stabilised, simply gets monitored with measurements at your check-ups.