If your teeth look a little longer than they used to, or a cold drink makes one tooth twinge, you may already be reading about gingival recession treatments. You might also notice a small notch near the gum line or gums pulling back from one spot when you smile. These changes can creep in slowly, so it’s easy to wonder whether they matter and what can be done about them. A receding gum line can also be a sign of gum disease that needs treatment, which makes the cause worth understanding.
Quick Overview
- Gingival recession treatments aim to protect or cover exposed tooth roots after the gum line moves back.
- They may be considered when recession causes tooth sensitivity, keeps progressing or affects how your smile looks.
- Options range from deep cleaning and dental bonding to gum grafts and minimally invasive procedures.
- Results depend on the type of recession, the thickness of your gum tissue and the support between your teeth.
- An assessment of your gums, symptoms and goals usually guides which option fits.
The sections below outline each type of treatment, how a suitable option is chosen and how to care for your gums afterwards.
What Are Gingival Recession Treatments?
Gingival recession treatments are care steps and procedures that manage the cause of receding gums, ease symptoms such as sensitivity and, where suitable, cover the exposed root surface. They range from non-surgical care to gum surgery that moves or adds gum tissue.
Treatment usually starts with the reason the gum moved. When periodontal disease is behind the problem, bringing the infection under control comes first. This doesn’t replace lost gum tissue, but it creates a stable base for any further treatment.
Non-Surgical Options for Gum Recession
Non-surgical treatment focuses on controlling the cause and protecting the exposed tooth, rather than rebuilding the gum. It may suit mild cases, or areas where surgery isn’t the right fit, and it may form the first stage of care. 
- Monitoring: Minimal recession may simply be monitored when it isn’t causing sensitivity or decay, with measurements compared at check-ups.
- Scaling and root planing: This deep clean removes plaque and hardened calculus from the tooth surface and below the gums, which can help the gum settle and reattach to the tooth.
- Desensitising agents: These can be applied to an exposed root to manage sensitivity when appearance isn’t a concern.
- Dental bonding: For small, localised areas with sensitivity or wear, tooth-coloured composite can be bonded over the exposed root without changing the gum.
Surgical Root Coverage Procedures
Root coverage procedures involve a surgical procedure that moves the gum or adds tissue to cover an exposed root. They’re usually done under local anaesthetic, and the graft or repositioned gum is stitched over the root surface to heal into place.
In gum grafting surgery, a connective tissue graft takes a thin layer of tissue, usually from the roof of the mouth, and tucks it under a flap of existing gum tissue beside the affected tooth. A free gingival graft also uses tissue from the palate, and it’s another grafting option your dentist may discuss.
In a review of randomised trials, a connective tissue graft placed under a flap achieved more complete root coverage than a collagen matrix substitute. Harvesting tissue from the palate does add a second surgical site, and that spot may feel sore while it heals.
Minimally Invasive Approaches to Treating Gingival Recession
Some techniques aim to shrink the surgical site and avoid taking tissue from the palate. The evidence behind these minimally invasive options is still growing, so your dentist will weigh what’s known against your own situation before suggesting one.
With the pinhole surgical technique, the gum is loosened through a small opening and moved down over the root, often without stitches. Platelet-rich fibrin, prepared from a sample of your own blood, can be placed under the gum to release growth factors that may support healing.
In one small trial, sites treated with this combination reported lower pain in the early days than sites given a collagen membrane, though root coverage was modest in both.
How Does Your Dentist Choose a Gum Recession Treatment?
Your dentist bases the choice on how much recession is present, how many teeth are involved and what is causing it. Results vary, and how much root ends up covered depends on your individual situation. These factors also guide which surgical technique is suggested:
- Support between the teeth: X-rays help check the bone between neighbouring teeth. When this support is intact, full root coverage is more achievable, and where it has been lost, partial coverage is more likely.
- One site or several: Treating localised, single gingival recessions is planned differently from multiple recession-type defects, and the amount of donor tissue available can limit how many sites are treated at once.
- Gum thickness: Thin gum tissue is more prone to recession, so building up the remaining gum tissue may be part of the plan.
- Smoking and general health: Smoking and some systemic health conditions are linked to gum recession, so your dentist will factor in your general health when planning treatment.
Every dental procedure carries risks, and with grafting, these can include discomfort, swelling and a root that isn’t fully covered. Your dentist will explain these before you decide.
Protecting Your Gums After Treatment
Once the treated area has healed, daily care focuses on cleaning thoroughly without wearing the gum down. Good oral hygiene protects both the result and your wider oral health, around treated and untreated teeth alike.
Brush twice a day with a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste, using light pressure along the gum. Regular, gentle brushing helps prevent gum disease, which matters because gum disease can make the gum shrink further from the tooth. Clean between your teeth daily with floss or interdental brushes. Regular check-ups let your dentist compare measurements over time, which helps you maintain healthy gums.
Finding the Right Approach for Your Gums
Gum recession is easy to put off when it doesn’t hurt, yet each assessment shows more clearly whether the gum line is stable or moving. A dental professional can measure the recession, find what’s causing it and explain which approach suits the affected tooth. At Sure Smile Dental, our team provides gum grafting to cover exposed roots, alongside deep cleaning to manage the gum disease that can sit behind recession. If you’d like to talk through your options, please call us on (07) 3185 2387.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can receding gums grow back on their own?
Improving how you clean and managing the cause can help prevent further recession, but these steps aren’t a way to cover a root that is already showing. Bringing gum back over an exposed root generally needs one of the procedures described above.
Is gum recession just a cosmetic concern?
It can be a cosmetic concern on the front teeth, but it also has practical effects. Exposed roots don’t have the enamel layer that protects the crown of the tooth, so they can be more sensitive and more prone to decay. Left untreated, recession linked to advanced gum disease can contribute to tooth loss, which may then need a bridge, denture or dental implants.
What causes gums to recede in the first place?
Gum disease is a frequent cause, as ongoing inflammation breaks down the tissue that holds the gum against the tooth. Overzealous brushing, poor oral hygiene and a tooth position that sits out of line with the others can also play a part. Often, more than one factor is involved.
How long does healing take after gum grafting?
In the first weeks, you may be asked not to brush the treated area and to use a prescribed antiseptic rinse instead, while brushing your other teeth gently with a soft toothbrush. Gum tissue keeps maturing for several months, so the final result is usually assessed at around six months. Follow-up visits let your dentist check healing and advise when normal brushing can resume.
Will my teeth feel less sensitive after gingival recession treatments?
Sensitivity may ease once gum covers the root again, although this depends on how much of the exposed tooth ends up covered. If part of the root still shows, the non-surgical options above can help manage what remains.
Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
References
A connective tissue graft placed under a flap achieved more complete root coverage than a collagen matrix substitute (Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2022): https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/15/4486
Sites treated with the pinhole surgical technique and platelet-rich fibrin reported lower early pain than sites treated with a collagen membrane (Head & Face Medicine, 2024): https://head-face-med.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13005-024-00441-1.pdf
Gentle twice-daily brushing with a soft toothbrush helps prevent gum disease, which can cause gums to shrink from the tooth (Healthdirect Australia, last reviewed February 2025): https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/gum-disease
Smoking and systemic diseases are linked to gum recession; this review also supports the monitoring, bonding, desensitising and causes content (International Journal of Applied Dental Sciences, 2024): https://www.oraljournal.com/archives/2024/vol10issue4/PartC/10-4-23-698.pdf
Additional source used: professional removal of plaque and calculus helps the gums reattach to the tooth, and daily cleaning between the teeth helps prevent gum disease (Better Health Channel, reviewed August 2025): https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/ConditionsAndTreatments/gum-disease
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