What are receding gums? Receding gums is a condition wherein the margin of the gums pulls away thereby making your tooth longer because more of the tooth or the root of your tooth exposed. There are several factors that can cause receding gums such as periodontal disease, poor oral hygiene, and many more, which will be discussed later on. Therefore, make sure that you take care of your receding gums by having a healthy oral care routine to prevent your receding gums from worsening. Hence, here are the best toothbrushes for your receding gums.
The best three recommended toothbrushes for gum recession are the Philips Sonicare HX6631/02 3 Series Gum Health Rechargeable, the Waterpik Complete Care Water Flosser and Sonic Toothbrush, and the Oral-B Pro 6000 SmartSeries Electric Toothbrush. Though these are a bit expensive, they can go into different cleaning modes that will meet your oral health needs.
Aside from knowing the best toothbrush for receding gums, you must also know what are the factors that can cause your gums to recede, which will be briefly discussed, later on. This can help you prevent to stop doing those unhealthy practices that can harm and damage your gums. Hence, before you buy a toothbrush, here are the things you must know first what causes your gums to recede.
Factors that Can Lead to Receding Gums
There are two main factors that can lead to receding gums. First is the build-up of plaque, which is caused by improper and lack of oral hygiene. When this plaque build-up is not properly removed through brushing and flossing, later on it can lead to the formation of tartar that can result in receding gums over time.
Another factor that can cause your gums to recede is due to aggressive brushing. Brushing your teeth in a harsh way, especially when using a hard bristle toothbrush can damage your enamel that later on can also result in gum recession. That is why choosing the proper toothbrush that meets your dental hygiene needs is essential.
How to Choose the Best Toothbrush for Gum Recession
There are many different kinds of toothbrushes available in the market that you can choose from. That is why looking for a perfect toothbrush that will suit your needs, especially if you have receding gums must be planned carefully and must meet the below criteria.
1. Type of Bristle Material
The type of bristle material that your toothbrush is made up of can affect your gums. That is why toothbrush manufacturers make use of soft rubber instead of nylon in making the bristles to make sure that the cleaning head of your toothbrush will not cause any harm to your gum lining and tissues. When the bristles of your toothbrush are made from hard materials such as nylon, it can cause the enamel on your teeth to wear away; therefore, this factor can greatly affect the condition of your gums. This is because nylon is a kind of bristle that is stiff enough to damage your dental enamel, which can break the attachment between your teeth and your gums; therefore, this can lead to gum recession and we prevent that to happen, right?
That is why soft toothbrush bristles are recommended for people who have gum diseases because they have minimal to no risk of damaging your gums. Thus, it can help you clean every tooth thoroughly due to the flexibility of the bristles.
2. Type of Bristle Design
Conventional toothbrushes are designed with flat trim bristles, unfortunately, they are not effective in removing plaque. This plaque, when not properly removed can lead to tartar build-up and later on can cause your gums to recede. It can only be removed thoroughly using a professional dental cleaning tool that is why some manufacturers recreated a new toothbrush bristle design with criss-cross and angled bristles as an attempt to make the brushing more efficient. In addition to this, angled bristles have shown no negative effect against gum recession; therefore, these types of toothbrushes are worth considering for this type of gum condition.
Finally, you already know the basic characteristics your toothbrush must have if you are suffering from gum recession. Therefore, here are my personal picks of the best toothbrushes for people with sensitive gums and those who have gum recession.
Top Three Best Toothbrushes for Receding Gums
Be mindful that the products listed below are based on my personal preferences and on the criteria mentioned above.
1. PHILIPS SONICARE HX6631/02 3 SERIES GUM HEALTH RECHARGEABLE
This is an easy-to-use power toothbrush that helps you prevent early signs of gum diseases. With its three customizable intensity settings, this helps you choose the appropriate level of brushing along your gum line in which you can set it to a low power setting that is appropriate for your gums. Thus, this can help you prevent having receding gums. Moreover, this toothbrush helps your gum in reducing swelling, redness, and bleeding, which is good for your gum’s health.
You can learn more on this site
2. WATERPIK COMPLETE CARE WATER FLOSSER AND SONIC TOOTHBRUSH
This 2-in-1 flosser and brusher deliver all your dental care needs in one product. With its water flosser that can get in between teeth and gum line, this can help in removing dental plaque that cannot be removed by simply brushing alone. Because of that, it can keep your gums healthy and can protect you against receding gums.
You can learn more on this site
3. ORAL-B PRO 6000 SMART SERIES ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH
Due to its five unique settings and pressure sensor, it can help remove plaque along with the gum line while sending you a signal when you are applying too much pressure when you are brushing your teeth. As mentioned earlier that brushing too hard is not good for your gums as this can cause your gums to recede. Therefore, thanks to this wonderful feature as this can protect your gums from harsh brushing.
Furthermore, this toothbrush is designed with angled bristles that can break plaque build-up on hard to reach areas of your mouth, which can keep your gums in good condition.
You can learn more on this site
Even though you are properly taking care of your teeth and gums using any of these toothbrushes, you might still be hoping if there is a possibility or chance that your receded gums can be fixed. Therefore, here is what I found out:
Can Receding Gums be Fixed?
The answer is YES, receding gums can still be fixed through some treatments that can help to replenish and restore the gum tissue that was lost around the teeth. For the treatment of receding gums, it depends on the root cause of the gum recession. Here are some of the most common reasons:
The Root Cause of Receding Gums
There are a number of factors that can cause your gums to recede. You can learn more by checking this helpful site for your reference.
- Periodontal disease
- Brushing your teeth too hard
- Teeth clenching and grinding
- Insufficient oral hygiene
- Gum injury
Once you already know the reason that has caused your gums to recede, it is now time for the treatment options. Therefore, here are the following treatment options that can help to fix or reattach gum tissues around the teeth.
1. Scaling and Root Planing
This procedure is the first line of treatment for receding gums, wherein it involves removing dental plaque below the gum line, and then the dentist will use a special instrument to smoothen the roots that helps the gums to reconnect to the tooth.
2. Gum Graft Surgery (GGS)
This procedure applies to people whose gums are hardly receded. During this procedure, the surgeon will cut a small gum tissue in the mouth and then use it to mask and cover the tooth root spaces that were exposed. This helps prevent further gum recession, as well as giving protection to the exposed roots.
3. Pinhole surgical technique (PST)
This procedure aims to treat mild to moderate receding gums since it just involves creating a pinhole in the tissue of the gum that is above the exposed tooth. Therefore, the dentist will insert a special tool into the hole to separate the gum from the tooth; afterward, the dentist will expand and reposition the gum back on the exposed tooth.
Well, you already have an idea that receding gums can still be fixed; however, there is still one thing that concerns you and this is the cost of the procedure. Hence, to give you a rough estimate of the cost of the gum recession surgery, here is what I have searched online.
How Much Does Gum Recession Surgery Cost?
The cost for gum receding surgery will depend on the following criteria:
- The length of delay for the gum surgery
- Number of teeth getting a surgery
- Type of tissue that will be used in the surgery
- Your dentist location
For a single procedure, a typical gum recession surgery will cost around $600 to $1200. However, try to visit your local dentists to compare where you could get an affordable surgery since the procedure is a bit pricey.
On the other hand, there is still another way to restore and fix your receding gums aside from gum graft surgery. This is the so-called Gum Contouring, wherein it is a cosmetic procedure that is designed to make your gums even by trimming some parts of your gum tissues. However, this procedure is a bit expensive, ranging from a cost of $1000 to $3000 per area because of the need for x-rays and some diagnostic exams.
However, if you have dental insurance coverage such as Medicaid it will help you cover the fees for certain types of dental services. Here are the dental services covered by Medicaid in the state of California.
| PREVENTIVE SERVICES | 1 dental cleaning per year 1 fluoride treatment per year 2 exams per year |
| RESTORATIVE SERVICES | 1 Prefabricated crown per year 1 Lab processed crowns every 5 years Root canals |
| PERIODONTAL SERVICES | 1 scaling or root planing per quadrant every 2 years |
| DENTURES | 1 full or partial denture every 5 years |
| ORAL SURGERY SERVICES | Maxillofacial and complete oral surgery not applied toward annual limit |
NOTE: You must have an annual spending limit of $1800 to be eligible on the coverage
Once you have decided if you will do gum surgery, you will now look for the best dental clinics whose expertise is on periodontal cases. Hence, here are the best dental clinics in California where you could get the most affordable and high-quality service for gum graft procedure.
Best Dental Clinics in California
- CENTER FOR ADVANCED PERIODONTAL & IMPLANT THERAPY | 11620 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles
- DAVID S KAO, DDS | 1127 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles
- JEAN -JACQUES ELBAZ, DDS, MS | 9465 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills
- ONE DENTAL SPECIALTIES | 621 S Western Ave., Los Angeles
- BEVERLY HILLS PERIODONTICS & DENTAL IMPLANT CENTER | 416 N Bedford Dr, Beverly Hills
- MD PERIODONTICS | 9735 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills
- RAMSEY AMIN, DDS | 500 E Olive Ave, Burbank
- BEVERLY HILLS PRESTIGE DENTAL GROUP | 1125 S Beverly Dr, Los Angeles
- GOLDEN G TRACY, DMD | 10921 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles
- MILES MADISON, DDS | 350 S Beverly Dr, Beverly Hill