Can Cosmetic Dentistry Fix A Receding Gum Line?

Even if you have bright and healthy teeth, a receding gum line can ruin your smile. And while a general dentist will want to treat the cause of your gum recession as well as try to restore your gum line, a cosmetic dentist can restore your gum line in a number of cosmetic ways.

If you suffering from gum recession, then as long as the condition is not caused by gum disease, then cosmetic dentistry can help to restore your gum line.

Gum recontouring can restore lost gum tissue

If your gum recession is a result of overzealous brushing, trauma or aging, then a cosmetic dentist can help you by performing gum recontouring on the area. To do this, a cosmetic dentist first removes some soft tissue from the roof of your mouth, as this tissue is similar to the tissue covering your teeth roots. They can then graft this tissue to the area where your gums have receded.

This process replaces the lost gum tissue, which is important since gum tissue does not grow back once lost. And to ensure that your gums are uniform in appearance, the dentist will then sculpt your gum tissue to conceal the graft and create an even gum line.

However, if surgery does not appeal to you, there is another non-surgical option.

Gingival veneers can hide receding gums

Some patients don't want to undergo surgery to replace lost gum tissue. In this case, a cosmetic dentist can create some gingival veneers that a patient can wear to cover up their receded gums. Just as tooth veneers resemble your natural teeth, gingival or gum veneers resemble your natural gums. This means that while wearing them, they will be indistinguishable from your natural gum tissue.

To create gum veneers, cosmetic dentists take a mould of your gums, and then create an acrylic veneer, much in the same way as a denturist creates an acrylic denture. When you go to bed at night, you can take your gum veneers out and clean them to remove bacteria and food debris.

Gum recession caused by gum disease needs the help of a periodontist

If your gum recession is a result of gum disease, then you first need to treat the disease before you can replace the lost gum tissue. A periodontist can help to get your gum disease under control with root planning and scaling to remove bacteria and tartar from the roots of your teeth. Once your gum disease is under control, you can then consider replacing the lost gum tissue.

For more information, reach out to cosmetic dentists.