Receding gums are a common symptom of many dental problems today, the main cause of which is improper oral hygiene. Inflammation of the gums will create conditions for bacteria to attack and cause other serious effects. To temporarily prevent these effects, you can apply some ways to treat receding gums at home with simple ingredients.
1. Symptoms of receding gums
Receding gums often have quite obvious symptoms, the tooth root will be exposed due to the gradual loss of gums or the gradual deepening of the tooth root. In addition, healthy gums are usually light pink, but when they recede, they will often be dark red due to inflammation.
Normally, the symptoms of receding gums will appear sporadically, but after a long time, they will become more obvious. Although gum recession does not have a serious impact on health at the beginning, it has the potential to cause many dangerous complications later.
2. Causes of gum recession
Some of the main causes of gingivitis include:
2.1. Improper oral hygiene
Many people often brush their teeth incorrectly, so bacteria will not be completely cleaned after eating and drinking, and the gums will also be seriously damaged. Brushing your teeth with too much force and brushing across the tooth surface are actions that are completely bad for the gums.
In fact, brushing your teeth is not enough, you need to scrape your tongue and use dental floss to thoroughly remove stubborn plaque. In particular, you need to limit some habits of using toothpicks, grinding your teeth, etc.
2.2. Periodontal disease
This is considered one of the leading causes of gum recession because when the gum tissue is infected, it becomes an ideal place for bacteria to grow and attack. Therefore, as soon as periodontal disease is detected, you need to go to the dentist for examination and treatment as soon as possible.
2.3. Genetics
According to statistics, more than 30% of people regularly suffer from oral diseases despite practicing proper hygiene every day. The cause at this time can be attributed to the sensitive and weak teeth, not strong enough to fight harmful bacteria.
2.4. Endocrine disorders
The gums and oral health in general often become more sensitive when the body’s hormones are disrupted, or more simply, the biochemical environment in the body changes erratically. This condition often occurs in pregnant or breastfeeding women when hormones change erratically.
3. What effects can gum recession cause?
Gum recession can occur in both jaws at any tooth position, but is most common in the lower molars and canines. Incisors and molars are less likely to have gum recession, but if it does occur, it will be much more serious than at the tooth root. The gums are the part that protects the tooth root from being eroded by saliva, so once damaged, it will cause serious effects such as:
– Plaque and food residue easily get stuck in the gaps between teeth, making oral hygiene difficult, causing bad breath and increasing the risk of tooth decay.
– The tooth root becomes sensitive and vulnerable to bacterial attack, leading to conditions such as tooth sensitivity, bleeding gums, pulpitis, alveolar bone loss, etc.
– Gum recession seriously affects aesthetics, causing exposed tooth roots, making teeth look longer and uneven in color.
4. How to treat gum recession at home
When you discover that your gums are slightly receding, you can apply some simple ways to treat receding gums at home to feel more comfortable:
4.1. Use honey
In folk medicine, honey is considered a natural ingredient that can cure all diseases, especially diseases related to infections and inflammation. This method is quite simple, you just need to use a cotton swab to absorb a little honey and then apply it to the gums that need treatment after brushing your teeth. Leave it for 5 minutes and then rinse your mouth with clean water. If you do this every day, the condition of receding gums will improve significantly.
4.2. Using green tea leaves
Green tea leaves contain catechin compounds that effectively bind teeth to gum tissue. To treat receding gums at home, boil fresh green tea leaves to rinse your mouth every day. Persistently apply after a period of time and you will see clear results.
4.3. Use aloe vera
Not only famous for its skin beautifying properties, aloe vera can also effectively improve swollen gums and receding gums. You just need to take a sufficient amount of aloe vera and apply it to the damaged gums, keep it for about 3-5 minutes and then rinse your mouth with water. Or alternatively, apply aloe vera directly to the toothbrush to brush your teeth every day.
4.5. Use topical medication
Using topical medication containing fluoride is one of the most popular ways to reduce pain when having receding gums today. You can easily find these drugs, but this is only a temporary measure and cannot treat the root cause of gum recession.
5. Treating gum recession at the dentist
To completely overcome gum recession, you need to go to the dentist for an examination to find the specific cause of gum recession and then take appropriate measures depending on the condition:
5.1. Treating mild gum recession
When gum recession only occurs in one or a few teeth, the tooth root is not too exposed and the gums are still healthy enough to firmly adhere to the tooth root, the patient only needs to perform simple treatment. Some measures include scaling, using oral gel or gingivitis medication. In addition, patients need to practice proper oral hygiene according to the doctor’s instructions to quickly overcome receding gums.
5.2. Treatment of severe gum recession
When gum recession becomes severe, occurring in many teeth, the tooth roots are exposed and the gums are severely inflamed and red, in addition to removing tartar, the best way is to treat surgically with one of the following three methods:
– Surgery using a local flap with a bud to correct gum recession, smaller methods are double papilla flap, semi-lunar flap, lateral sliding flap, oblique flap, sliding flap towards the tooth neck, etc.
– Surgery using autologous tissue grafts, using tissue from a part of the mouth to compensate for the receding gums, divided into smaller methods: subepithelial connective tissue graft, autologous free gum graft, etc.
– Surgery using artificial membranes combined with local flaps: tissue regeneration, using acellular synchronous epithelium, etc.
6. Oral care to prevent receding gums
To prevent receding gums, you should note the following:
– Remember to brush your teeth at least twice a day to clean the tooth surface, especially after each meal.
– Use a soft-bristled toothbrush with moderate brushing force to avoid damaging the gums.
– Remember to change your toothbrush every 3-4 months to prevent bacteria from growing.
– Combine the use of dental floss to remove food debris in between teeth.
– Maintain a scientific diet, supplement with necessary vitamins and minerals to support increased resistance to help the body fight harmful bacteria.
– Visit the dentist regularly at least every 6 months as recommended by experts to ensure that oral health is checked regularly.
So you can temporarily fix receding gums with home remedies for receding gums using fairly simple ingredients. However, to treat the root cause of receding gums, you need to go to the dentist for examination and appropriate treatment options.
