Receding Gum Pictures
If you’re Googling “what does gum recession look like?” you might have noticed your teeth looking longer than normal, or parts of your gum pulling back, exposing your tooth roots. When it comes to receding gums, it’s not something that’s easy to second-guess. The signs are very visible, even to the untrained eye. If you want to check through pictures first before booking with a periodontist, we completely understand.
That’s why we’ve put this post together, to include images of some of our past cases and explain some visual signs to look out for. If you do relate to some of the images we’ve shown, please do not panic. While receding gums and gum disease are serious condition that requires prompt attention, there are dentists, like us, who can help you take back control and improve the aesthetics of your smile and gums.
Receding gum photos - patient cases
Treatment for gum disease and recession at Neyo Dental in Sussex with Dr Yogesh Wadher.
What does severe gum recession look like?
What does gum recession look like on bottom teeth?
What does early gum recession look like?
Do you believe your receding gums have not reached a point where they’re advanced yet? Wondering what the start of gum recession looks like and the signs to keep an eye out for?
Here are some key visual indicators that your gums are beginning to pull back:
- Teeth appearing longer than normal
- Gum tissue pulling away from the tooth
- More tooth surface or root exposed
- Experiencing heightened sensitivity
- Feeling grooves or notches where the gums meet the tooth
- Noticing discolouration at the bottom of the tooth (that looks different from the enamel-covered portion)
- Red, swollen and irritated gums (gums also feel tender)
- Uneven or irregular gum line (from a smooth arc to an uneven shape)
What happens without treatment?
- The stages of gum disease will progress, advance and get worse.
- The gums will continue to recede, causing the teeth to become unstable and at risk for loss.
- All supporting tissues and bone structures will begin to degrade as the infection deepens.
Read next: How Long Can You Keep Your Teeth with Periodontal Disease?
Receding gums treatment
As specialist gum dentists and periodontists, we’ve got a lot more advanced treatments to lean on to help save your smile. Our dentists, like Dr Wadher, can help undo the signs and appearance of gum recession by carrying out a range of treatments suitable for your stage. They might include:
Periodontal Deep Cleaning
- Reduces inflammation, helps with bleeding and creates a healthier environment for gums to re-attach.
- Performed under local anaesthetic
Consider this treatment as a meticulous reset for your gums that goes far beyond your typical hygiene appointment. Periodontist, Dr Wadher, will remove plaque and tartar trapped deep below the gumline and smooth the roots to make it more difficult for bacteria to reattach.
Pocket Depth Reduction
- Recovery usually takes a few days
- Shallower pockets are easier to maintain and help halt further recession
Also referred to as Flap Surgery, pocket depth reduction lifts the gum, removes hardened deposits, recontours the bone, and places the gum in a more snug position when deep pockets have formed between the teeth and gums.
Regeneration
- Improves long-term stability, restores support around teeth and prevents tooth loss.
If we find that gum disease has damaged your supporting bone, we can help encourage your body to begin to rebuild it. Using biocompatible membranes, growth factors and bone graft materials, we can help guide new bone and regenerate tissue where it’s needed.
Soft Tissue Graft
- Less root sensitivity, strengthens the gum’s seal against bacteria, enhances symmetry and improves comfort.
- Aesthetically, it’s particularly effective for visible teeth showing recession.
- Gum graft before and after
For areas of your smile that feel uneven, sensitive or visibly receded, we can add healthy gum tissue back (microsurgically) to reinforce thin gums and cover exposed roots. Explore gum lifts instead.
Ready to feel confident about your gums again? Book a consultation with Dr Wadher.
