Receding Gums: Causes, What Can Be Reversed, and Treatment Options
The short answer
Receding gums means the gum margin has moved down the tooth, exposing root surface that should be covered. Gum already lost does not grow back on its own, and no toothpaste, oil or supplement has been shown to regrow it. What can change is whether it gets worse. Where gum disease is driving it, the British Society of Periodontology states that non-surgical treatment “is highly effective for most patients with early to moderate disease”, with progression arrested. In selected cases the exposed root can be covered surgically. The more useful first question is not “how do I fix it” but “why is it happening”, because the causes are managed very differently.
Suitability for treatment depends on a clinical assessment. This treatment may not be appropriate for every patient.
What receding gums actually are
The crown of a tooth is covered in enamel. The root is not. The gum is the only cover the root has.
When the gum margin migrates towards the tip of the root, the tooth looks longer, and the exposed root surface becomes vulnerable in ways the crown is not. The British Society of Periodontology lists the complications of recession as temperature sensitivity and root caries — sensitivity and decay of the exposed root.
Recession is a sign, not a diagnosis. It tells you something has happened, not what.
How common is receding gums?
More common than most people assume. In a study of 349 young UK adults published in the Journal of Dentistry, every single participant had recession affecting at least one tooth, and 42% had at least one site with 4–8 mm of recession. Maximum recession increased steadily with age. In the same group, 46% had dentine sensitivity — but only 5% had periodontal pocketing of 4 mm or more.
That last figure matters: widespread recession in a population with very little gum disease. Recession is not automatic proof of periodontitis, which is why a proper diagnosis beats assuming the worst.
What causes receding gums
Gum disease
The cause with the most at stake, because it also destroys the bone holding the tooth in place.
The NHS states that gum disease is caused by a build-up of plaque on the teeth, and lists gums “shrinking” among the things that happen as it progresses. Early gum disease — gingivitis — is described by the British Society of Periodontology as a reversible plaque-induced inflammation. Periodontitis is not reversible. The British Society of Periodontology’s 2016 Good Practitioner’s Guide to Periodontology describes it as an irreversible destructive process that destroys the supporting bone, and states that almost half of the adult population is susceptible to chronic periodontitis, with approximately 10–15% of people experiencing a severe form.
Where recession is being driven by periodontitis, the recession is the visible part of a much larger problem, and gum disease treatment is the priority. Everything else is detail.
Smoking
Smoking is one of the most significant risk factors, and the most readily modifiable of them. The British Society of Periodontology states that smokers are “up to six times more likely to show periodontal destruction than non-smokers”, respond less well to treatment and are at increased risk of recurrence. The dose response is unforgiving: even smoking one to four cigarettes a day increases the risk of developing periodontitis by almost 50%, and smokers are twice as likely to lose teeth in the longer term.
Two points are specific to recession. Smokers show greater gingival recession as a group. And smokers bleed less on brushing — not because their gums are healthier, but because reduced gingival blood flow masks the warning sign most people rely on.
Brushing too hard — what the evidence actually says
This is the explanation almost every article reaches for, and it is far shakier than it is usually presented.
A systematic review by Rajapakse and colleagues examined 18 studies covering 4,457 people to test the link between toothbrushing and non-inflammatory recession. Their conclusion: “the data to support or refute the association between tooth brushing and gingival recession were inconclusive”. Individual studies pointed in different directions on frequency, force, bristle hardness and duration.
The 2018 UK study did find recession correlated with an unsystematic brushing motion — how people brush, rather than how hard — and with erosive tooth wear, which points at acid as much as abrasion.
The practical reading: nobody should tell you confidently that this is your fault for brushing hard. Equally, do not scrub. Technique beats force.
Where the tooth sits, and how thick the gum is
Some teeth are more exposed by anatomy than others. Writing in the British Dental Journal, Fleming and Andrews note that the cortical bone plates covering the roots are generally thin, particularly on the labial — outward-facing — aspects, and that labially displaced and rotated teeth “may lack gingival coverage labially”. They also report that recession is particularly likely in those with a thin periodontal biotype or phenotype, defined as a tissue thickness below 1 mm, and that 1 mm of recession has been associated with 2.8 mm of underlying bone dehiscence — a defect in the bone covering the root.
So the position of a particular tooth, the bone behind it and the thickness of the gum over it are all part of the picture, and they vary from tooth to tooth in the same mouth.
Orthodontic treatment
Moving teeth carries some risk of recession, and the honest version of that statement includes the size of the effect.
A prospective controlled study of 40 patients treated with fixed braces against 40 untreated controls found a higher incidence of recession in the treated group one year after treatment — an adjusted incidence rate ratio of 1.67 (95% CI 1.05 to 2.67, P = 0.03). The same authors recorded that “the severity of gingival recessions was of limited extent”, with the vast majority measuring up to 1 mm.
Fleming and Andrews report a related finding: a 50% probability of 2 mm of vertical bone loss following lower incisor proclination of 8 degrees.
So: a real, measurable increase in risk, mostly of very small recessions. That is something to know before treatment rather than a reason to avoid it — and a reason to have gum health assessed and stable before tooth movement begins.
Successful gum treatment itself
Counter-intuitive, and patients are often not warned. When deep gum pockets are treated successfully, inflamed swollen tissue shrinks back to its true level. The British Society of Periodontology describes probing depths reducing “often accompanied by recession”, mainly across the first six months after treatment, and lists among the recognised side effects of periodontal treatment “increased gingival recession, longer-looking teeth… increasing gaps between the teeth (black triangles), increased sensitivity, soreness and food packing”.
Gums looking longer after successful treatment is usually evidence that it worked, not that it failed. That should be explained beforehand, not discovered afterwards.
Age
Recession accumulates: in the UK study, maximum recession rose in a significant linear association with age. Much of that is simply a lifetime’s exposure to everything above.
What can be reversed, and what cannot
Three quite different things get bundled together under “reversing receding gums”.
Inflammation can be reversed. The British Society of Periodontology describes gingivitis as a reversible plaque-induced inflammation. Get plaque control right and the redness, swelling and bleeding resolve.
Lost attachment does not come back. Where periodontitis has destroyed the fibres and bone anchoring the tooth, routine treatment does not rebuild them. It stops the process; it does not undo it.
Lost gum height does not return on its own. No toothpaste, mouthwash, gel, oil-pulling routine or supplement has been shown to regrow gum over an exposed root; the only interventions with a controlled evidence base for covering an exposed root are surgical (Cochrane 2018).
Any product described as reversing recession is claiming something that has not been demonstrated.
How to stop receding gums getting worse
Get a diagnosis before a treatment
Recession from periodontitis, recession over thin gum on a prominent root, and recession following successful gum treatment call for three different responses. A periodontal assessment — pocket depths, bleeding scores and recession recorded site by site, with X-rays where indicated — establishes which you are dealing with. Without it, you are guessing.
Treat the underlying gum disease
Where periodontitis is present, non-surgical treatment is the mainstay: oral hygiene coaching, control of risk factors, and cleaning of the root surfaces below the gum. The British Society of Periodontology states that non-surgical therapy “is highly effective for most patients with early to moderate disease”, with progression arrested and probing depths reduced — conditional on the patient’s own daily cleaning and on control of other risk factors. Professional cleaning without a change at home does not hold.
Stop smoking
Given the figures above, the British Society of Periodontology notes a benefit to treatment response in patients who do stop.
If you have diabetes, control runs both ways
The British Society of Periodontology states that poorly controlled diabetes increases the risk of periodontal diseases and that wound healing is adversely affected by diabetes. The relationship runs the other way too: a Cochrane review of 35 studies and 3,249 participants found moderate-certainty evidence that treating periodontitis improves blood glucose control, reducing HbA1c by 0.43 percentage points at three to four months and by 0.30 percentage points at six months.
Change how you brush, not how hard
Soft or medium bristles, a systematic route around the mouth so no area is repeatedly missed or over-worked, and interdental cleaning every day. The NHS advises brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and cleaning between the teeth daily with floss or an interdental brush.
Treatment options once gums have already receded
Monitoring
Frequently the correct answer. Shallow, stable recession that is not sensitive and not progressing needs measuring, recording and re-checking rather than intervention, so any change is caught while it is still small.
Managing sensitivity and protecting the root
The British Society of Periodontology notes that complications of recession such as temperature sensitivity and root caries “would normally be managed conservatively by appropriate care including dietary analysis, tailored oral hygiene instruction and use of high concentration fluoride preparations”. For sensitivity specifically, it points to over-the-counter toothpastes containing potassium salts, oxalates or arginine. The same guidance flags that smokers with gingival recession are at increased risk of root decay.
Where recession has left a worn notch at the neck of the tooth, that can be restored with tooth-coloured filling material — covering the exposed surface, reducing sensitivity and improving appearance. It does not restore gum, and should follow control of the cause rather than replace it.
Gum graft surgery (root coverage)
Surgical root coverage is the only approach with a controlled evidence base for covering an exposed root. A Cochrane review of 48 randomised controlled trials involving 1,227 adults found that most root coverage procedures produced gains in reducing recession, and that subepithelial connective tissue grafts, coronally advanced flap alone or combined with a graft or biomaterial, and guided tissue regeneration may all be used.
Two qualifications from that review deserve stating plainly. The certainty of the evidence was rated low or very low, largely because of the design of the underlying studies, and the reviewers could not say which technique is most effective. The adverse effects reported were discomfort and pain, mainly relating to the graft donor site and mainly within the first week after surgery.
Surgery does not suit every defect or every patient. The British Society of Periodontology states that as a rule, surgical root coverage should only be considered for Miller class I and II defects, and that in smokers, periodontal management tends to avoid soft tissue grafting because of reduced healing capacity. Suitable cases are usually referred on for surgical assessment.
Receding gums and the appearance of your teeth
The NHS states that teeth whitening “can only lighten the colour of natural teeth”, and lists teeth becoming sensitive to cold or sweet food and drink among its side effects — which is relevant if recession has already left you with sensitivity. Whether tooth whitening is appropriate where gums have receded is a question for assessment rather than something to assume either way, and it makes sense to have the recession itself assessed and stabilised first.
When recession is a warning about the tooth itself
Teeth are lost to loss of bone support rather than to recession itself. The British Society of Periodontology describes periodontitis as a destructive process that destroys the supporting bone, until teeth loosen and are eventually lost.
Where a tooth has been lost, dental implants in Leeds are one replacement option. But the sequence matters, and the profession is more candid about this than dental advertising usually is. The British Society of Periodontology states that placing implants in patients who have lost teeth to periodontal disease “is extremely challenging”; that implant failures and long-term bone loss are higher where periodontal disease around the remaining teeth is uncontrolled; that peri-implant complications are significantly more common even in periodontally susceptible patients whose disease has been stabilised; and that “generally, even periodontally-involved teeth can be more successful in the long-term than dental implants”.
Keeping your own teeth is the better outcome wherever it is achievable, and gum disease has to be stabilised before implants are considered at all.
When to see a dentist
The NHS advises seeing a dentist if your gums bleed when you brush your teeth or eat hard foods, if your gums are painful and swollen, or if you have bad breath.
Add to that: gums that look as though they are shrinking; teeth that have started to look longer; new sensitivity to cold at the gum line; a tooth that feels loose or has moved; or a notch you can feel with a fingernail at the neck of a tooth.
Recession found early is a monitoring problem. Recession found late is often a bone problem.
Assessment at Horsforth Smile Clinic
A new patient consultation is from £55 (price correct as of July 2026), subject to clinical assessment; our full price list sets out our fees. What is appropriate afterwards — monitoring, gum disease treatment, sensitivity management, restoration of a worn notch, or referral for surgical assessment — depends on what that assessment finds. Horsforth Smile Clinic is at 2 Town Street, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4RJ.
Frequently asked questions
Do receding gums grow back?
No. Gum lost from around a tooth does not regrow on its own, and no product has been shown to regrow it. The exposed root can be covered surgically in selected cases. Where gum disease is the driver, the British Society of Periodontology states that non-surgical treatment is highly effective for most patients with early to moderate disease, with progression arrested.
Can receding gums be reversed naturally?
The inflammation can be. The British Society of Periodontology describes gingivitis as a reversible plaque-induced inflammation, and better plaque control resolves redness, swelling and bleeding. The lost gum height cannot be reversed by any home remedy — claims for oil pulling, herbal gels or supplements regrowing gum have not been demonstrated.
Is brushing too hard the cause of my receding gums?
Possibly, but far less certainly than it is usually made to sound. A systematic review of 18 studies covering 4,457 people concluded the evidence to support or refute a link between toothbrushing and non-inflammatory recession was inconclusive. Technique, gum disease, smoking, tooth position and gum thickness all matter, and all can be assessed.
Does receding gums mean I am going to lose my teeth?
Not on its own. Teeth are lost to loss of bone support rather than to recession itself, and the British Society of Periodontology describes periodontitis as the destructive process that removes that support. The question that matters is whether periodontitis is present and, if so, whether it has been stabilised.
My gums receded after gum treatment — did something go wrong?
Usually not. Successful treatment of deep pockets causes swollen tissue to shrink back to its true level, which the British Society of Periodontology describes as recession accompanying reduced probing depths, mainly over the first six months. It is a recognised consequence of the treatment working, and should be explained before treatment starts.
Can I have whitening if my gums have receded?
That depends on the assessment. The NHS notes that whitening can only lighten the colour of natural teeth, and that sensitivity to cold or sweet food and drink is a recognised side effect — worth weighing if recession has already made your teeth sensitive.
A note on sources
The British Society of Periodontology’s Good Practitioner’s Guide to Periodontology is cited here in its 2016 edition, which remains the current edition; the BSP states that the document is being updated to align with BSP and EFP recommendations. Some of its terminology, including “chronic periodontitis” and the Miller classification of recession defects, has since been superseded by the 2017 World Workshop classification.
Sources
- NHS. Gum disease. nhs.uk — https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gum-disease/
- NHS. Take care of your teeth and gums. nhs.uk — https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-teeth-and-gums/take-care-of-your-teeth-and-gums/
- NHS. Teeth whitening. nhs.uk — https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/teeth-whitening/
- British Society of Periodontology. The Good Practitioner’s Guide to Periodontology (2016) — https://www.bsperio.org.uk/assets/downloads/good_practitioners_guide_2016.pdf
- Seong J, Bartlett D, Newcombe RG, Claydon NCA, Hellin N, West NX. Prevalence of gingival recession and study of associated related factors in young UK adults. Journal of Dentistry 2018;76:58–67. doi:10.1016/j.jdent.2018.06.005
- 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.
- Fleming PS, Andrews J. The role of orthodontics in the prevention and management of gingival recession. British Dental Journal 2024;237(5):341–347. doi:10.1038/s41415-024-7781-1
- 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, Issue 10. Art. No.: CD007161.
- Simpson TC, Clarkson JE, Worthington HV, et al. Treatment of periodontitis for glycaemic control in people with diabetes mellitus. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2022, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD004714. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004714.pub4
- Kloukos D, Koukos G, Pandis N, et al. Effect of orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances on the development of gingival recession. A prospective controlled study. European Journal of Orthodontics 2025;47(3):cjaf022. doi:10.1093/ejo/cjaf022
