Question:
My friend in a dental school examine my teeth and he said that I have
receeded gum which he explained due to poor dental care. But the fact is I
take very good care of my teeth, 5 minutes brushing carefully, then
flossing and water pik. Is poor dental care the only cause of gum
recession?
Answer:
Much recession is cause by brushing too vigorously. Be sure you have a soft
toothbrush. Place the brush at a 45 degree angle to the gumline, then brush
in small circles holding the brush in place to a count of 10. Move on to
the next area, overlapping slightly. Brushing in circles like this tends to
reduce the pressure you are using.
An electric brush could also lessen pressure.
It can also be caused by muscle (frenum) attachments near the gingival
margin (gum line) . These muscles go from the inner part of the lip and
cheek to the gums, but sometimes come really close to the gumline and can
pull on them, helping to cause some recession.
This is a modification of the Bass method that we taught to patients with
recession. The circular motion changes the patients habit and reduces the
pressure. This was very helpful to most of our recession patients. Another
little change we advised for the few who still had problems, was to hold the
brush in a pen grasp.
