[karateman]

Hi everyone,

I have had an ongoing concern about my dental hygiene and fear that my brushing habits are causing my gums to recede. I brush with a decent amount of pressure for, unfortunately, anywhere from 8-13 minutes, sometimes more per brushing. I use a Spinbrush electric toothbrush with fairly firm bristles, and am not sure if said brushing routine is actually helpful to my teeth and/or gums, or doing more harm than good. My dentist says my teeth look great, but my gums "need work" which he said can be fixed by flossing regularly (which I never used to do, but am doing now). At first, there were signs of improvement, but today I looked in the mirror and checked out my back molars with an LED flashlight and began noticing that I could see some yellow below the molar head. That, and my molar didn't appear to smoothly transition from the head directly into the gum as it had before, but instead, there appeared to be a little distance between the base of the molar head and the gumline. Is this evidence of receding gums? Also, does redness at the gumline around a tooth show evidence of gum recession too? Any help that anyone can give me would be most appreciated!

Thanks!

[smoothy]

Have you been checked for early stages of Periodontal disease?

You can have great teeth but have that infection causing gum problems.

Not saying you do... just trying to eliminate somethintg.

[flossie]

Hi Karateman,

The simple answer to your question is yes, aggressive brushing can cause the gums to recede. Redness at the gumline indicates infection due to plaque not being removed thoroughly on a daily basis.

There are other causes of recession such as clenching and grinding, gum disease, age, habits and tongue jewelry.

Recession is also a side effect of making your gums healthier by flossing and brushing more thoroughly since when you have infected gums they are puffy and once they start to get healthy they shrink leaving some recession.

Recession is also caused by clenching and grinding your teeth, teeth that are out of position, tongue and lip jewelry, habits such as using chewing tobacco, and bulimia.

Be sure the spin brush you are using is one that oscillates and doesn't just go around and around. The consistent round and round brushing with a toothbrush that is too firm can cause the gums to recede or toothbrush abrasion.

If you have toothbrush abrasion you will actually be able to feel a notching at the gumline with your fingernail.

The powerbrush most recommended is the Oral B Triumph. It has an indicator to let you know if you are applying too much pressure when brushing and it oscillates.

I hope this helps.

[lJ.]

I would just like to add, you should brush your teeth for 2 minutes 3 times a day.

[flossie]

Actually, the current recommendation is 2 minutes 2 times a day. Especially before going to bed.