Can Receding Gums Grow Back? What the Evidence Says
No. Gum tissue that has receded does not grow back on its own, and no toothpaste, rinse, oil or brushing technique has been shown to regrow it. What treatment can do is address the factors driving further recession, manage the sensitivity and appearance it causes, and in selected cases surgically cover the exposed root. Those are three different outcomes, and only the last involves tissue moving back over the root.
Why this question gets answered badly online
Many of the answers online are attached to a product or a home remedy. That is a commercial answer rather than a clinical one.
There is a simple way to test it. If gums regrew in response to rinses, oils or brushing changes, the research literature on recession would be full of trials of rinses, oils and brushing changes. It is not. The most recent Cochrane review on correcting gum recession, by Chambrone and colleagues, assessed 48 randomised controlled trials — and every one of them tested a surgical root coverage procedure.
What gum recession actually is
Gingival recession is the gum margin sitting further down the tooth than it should, leaving root surface exposed that is normally covered. The 2018 consensus review by Cortellini and Bissada sets out the modern classification and notes that recession tends to increase with age, and that exposed root surface is frequently associated with impaired aesthetics, dentine hypersensitivity, and carious and non-carious lesions at the neck of the tooth.
It is also very common. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis in the Journal of Dentistry pooled 22 studies and estimated that 81.1% of people (95% CI 73.9-86.7) have at least 1 mm of recession somewhere in the mouth, 48.4% (95% CI 39.7-57.2) have at least 3 mm, and 16.2% (95% CI 9.1-27.4) have at least 5 mm.
Common does not mean it all needs treating. The 2018 consensus review is explicit that in the absence of pathosis, monitoring the affected sites is the proper approach rather than intervening. A stable 1 mm of recession that causes no symptoms is a finding, not a problem.
What the popular remedies actually do
Oil pulling
The largest synthesis to date is a 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis in the International Journal of Dental Hygiene, covering 25 trials and 1,184 participants. It found a probable benefit for gingival health measures, but chlorhexidine mouthwash remained better at reducing plaque, and the authors graded the overall certainty of the evidence as very low.
More importantly for this question: the outcomes that review measured were plaque scores, gingival inflammation scores and bacterial counts — not the position of the gum margin. Oil pulling has not been shown to regrow gum tissue, because it has not been tested for that.
Toothpastes and rinses marketed for “gum regrowth”
The outcome measures used across oral hygiene product research — plaque index, gingival index, bleeding on probing — record deposits and inflammation. Bleeding on probing is the accepted marker for defining gingivitis, as set out in the 2018 case definition by Trombelli and colleagues. It is not a measure of where the gum sits on the tooth.
A product can improve every one of those scores and change nothing about how far a gum has receded. Reducing inflammation is genuinely worth doing. It is not regrowth.
Brushing differently
Two systematic reviews in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology — Rajapakse and colleagues in 2007, and Heasman and colleagues in 2015 — both concluded that the evidence to support or refute a link between toothbrushing and gingival recession is inconclusive.
That is worth sitting with. Even the familiar claim that hard brushing causes recession is not firmly established. Using a soft brush and a gentle technique is reasonable general advice, but the evidence that brushing technique drives either recession or wear at the gumline is itself inconclusive — and there is no evidence that changing technique reverses recession.
What does help
Treating the underlying cause
In the 2025 meta-analysis, periodontitis carried the strongest association with recession (odds ratio 9.90, 95% CI 4.15-23.60), followed by the presence of a high frenulum (4.58, 95% CI 2.58-8.11), dental plaque (4.26, 95% CI 2.91-6.24), occlusal trauma (3.20, 95% CI 1.74-5.87), alcohol consumption (2.04, 95% CI 1.51-2.75) and smoking (1.84, 95% CI 1.33-2.53).
This is where the real gain is. Controlling active gum disease does not restore tissue that has already been lost. The purpose of treatment is to address the factors driving further loss — periodontitis carried the strongest association with recession in the 2025 meta-analysis (OR 9.90, 95% CI 4.15-23.60). The NHS advises cleaning by a hygienist, stopping smoking, and cleaning between the teeth as first-line measures, with deep cleaning below the gumline for more serious disease. Untreated, the NHS notes that gum disease can lead to gums shrinking and to tooth loss. Our own approach to this is set out on our gum disease treatment page.
Surgical root coverage
Where the appearance or the sensitivity justifies it, gum tissue can be surgically repositioned or grafted to cover exposed root. This is surgery, and it carries the usual risks of a surgical procedure — including discomfort, swelling, and the possibility of incomplete coverage or later relapse. Whether it is appropriate at all is a matter for individual clinical assessment. It is worth being straight about what the evidence shows.
The 2018 Cochrane review graded the evidence for its main comparisons as low to very low quality, and of the 48 trials it included, one was judged at low risk of bias, 12 at high risk and 35 unclear. Coverage is also frequently partial rather than complete, and can relapse: a 20-year follow-up of grafted sites published in the Journal of Periodontology found mean root coverage of 74.2% at one year, falling to 67.7% at 20 years. In that same study, complete coverage was achieved far more often where the tissue between the teeth was intact than where it had already been lost.
So this is not a procedure that rebuilds the gum you had at 25. It covers exposed root, imperfectly and to a degree that depends heavily on what is left to work with.
When surgery is not the answer
Not every case warrants an operation. The 2018 consensus review is clear that in the absence of pathosis, monitoring specific sites is the proper approach, and that surgical intervention may be indicated where the risk of the development or progression of damage to the root is increased, or to meet the patient’s aesthetic requirements. Which of those situations applies to you is what an assessment establishes.
When to get it looked at sooner rather than later
Book an appointment if you notice:
- gums that bleed when you brush or clean between your teeth
- recession that has visibly worsened over a few months
- a tooth that feels loose or has shifted
- sharp cold sensitivity at the neck of a tooth
- gaps opening up between teeth that were previously closed
Recession that is actively progressing is a different situation from recession that has been stable for years — which is precisely the distinction the 2018 consensus review draws between monitoring a site and intervening on it.
Frequently asked questions
Can receding gums grow back naturally? No. There is no natural process, diet, supplement or rinse that has been shown to return a receded gum margin to its original position.
Does oil pulling regrow gums? No. The trials that exist measured plaque, inflammation and bacterial counts, not gum position, and their overall certainty was graded very low.
Can gum recession at least be stopped? Progression is driven by the underlying cause — most often periodontal disease. Identifying and treating that cause is the aim of treatment, though it does not reverse recession that has already occurred (Cortellini & Bissada 2018).
Is a gum graft the only way to cover an exposed root? Surgical root coverage is the only approach for covering an exposed root that the Cochrane review found controlled trial evidence for. Suitability varies considerably, and complete coverage is not achievable in every case.
Do I need treatment if it does not hurt? Not necessarily. In the absence of pathosis, monitoring is often the proper approach. The point of an assessment is to establish which situation you are in.
Suitability for treatment depends on a clinical assessment. This treatment may not be appropriate for every patient.
A new patient consultation at Horsforth Smile Clinic is from £55 (price correct as of July 2026), subject to clinical assessment. Full details are on our price list.
Sources
- Chambrone L, Salinas Ortega MA, Sukekava F, Rotundo R, Kalemaj Z, Buti J, Pini Prato GP. Root coverage procedures for treating localised and multiple recession-type defects. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018;10:CD007161. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD007161.pub3
- Cortellini P, Bissada NF. Mucogingival conditions in the natural dentition: Narrative review, case definitions, and diagnostic considerations. Journal of Periodontology 2018;89(Suppl 1):S204-S213. doi:10.1002/JPER.16-0671
- Marschner F, Lechte C, Kanzow P, Hrasky V, Pfister W. Systematic review and meta-analysis on prevalence and risk factors for gingival recession. Journal of Dentistry 2025;155:105645. doi:10.1016/j.jdent.2025.105645
- Jong FJX, Ooi J, Teoh SL. The effect of oil pulling in comparison with chlorhexidine and other mouthwash interventions in promoting oral health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Dental Hygiene 2024;22(1):78-94. doi:10.1111/idh.12725
- Rajapakse PS, McCracken GI, Gwynnett E, Steen ND, Guentsch A, Heasman PA. Does tooth brushing influence the development and progression of non-inflammatory gingival recession? A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Periodontology 2007;34(12):1046-1061. doi:10.1111/j.1600-051X.2007.01149.x
- Heasman PA, Holliday R, Bryant A, Preshaw PM. Evidence for the occurrence of gingival recession and non-carious cervical lesions as a consequence of traumatic toothbrushing. Journal of Clinical Periodontology 2015;42(Suppl 16):S237-S255. doi:10.1111/jcpe.12330
- Trombelli L, Farina R, Silva CO, Tatakis DN. Plaque-induced gingivitis: Case definition and diagnostic considerations. Journal of Clinical Periodontology 2018;45(Suppl 20):S44-S67. doi:10.1111/jcpe.12939
- Pini Prato GP, Franceschi D, Cortellini P, Chambrone L. Long-term evaluation (20 years) of the outcomes of subepithelial connective tissue graft plus coronally advanced flap in the treatment of maxillary single recession-type defects. Journal of Periodontology 2018;89(11):1290-1299. doi:10.1002/JPER.17-0619
- NHS. Gum disease. nhs.uk/conditions/gum-disease/
