Receding gums cannot grow back on their own, but several treatments can restore lost tissue or stop the problem from getting worse. The right fix depends on how far your gums have receded and what caused the recession in the first place. Mild cases often respond to changes in oral care habits and a professional deep cleaning, while moderate to severe recession typically requires a surgical procedure to rebuild the gumline.
Why Gums Don’t Heal on Their Own
Unlike a cut on your skin, gum tissue that has pulled away from the tooth does not regenerate naturally. Research at King’s College London has shed light on why: gum cells actually release compounds that block bone-forming proteins, preventing the underlying jawbone and tissue from rebuilding once lost. This means that once recession has occurred, waiting and hoping it resolves will only allow it to progress further.
Understanding what drove the recession helps you pick the right fix and prevent it from happening again. The most common causes include brushing too hard, plaque and tartar buildup, periodontal (gum) disease, tobacco use, teeth grinding, misaligned teeth, and even lip or tongue piercings that rub against the gumline. Some people are also genetically predisposed to thinner gum tissue, which recedes more easily regardless of hygiene habits.
Stop the Damage First
No treatment will last if the underlying cause keeps working against your gums. Before pursuing any repair, you need to address whatever is driving the recession.
If aggressive brushing is the culprit, switching to a soft-bristled toothbrush and using lighter pressure makes a real difference. Many modern electric toothbrushes include pressure sensors that alert you or automatically pause when you push too hard. Studies suggest electric brushes cause less gum abrasion than manual ones, partly because guided motions and built-in timers encourage a gentler, more consistent technique.
If you grind or clench your teeth at night, a custom night guard absorbs that excess force before it reaches your gums. Grinding puts constant lateral pressure on the jawbone and gum tissue, accelerating recession over time. A properly fitted guard cushions the teeth, eases jaw muscle strain, and protects against further damage. Over-the-counter options exist, but a custom guard from your dentist fits more precisely and is less likely to shift or irritate your gums.
Smokers need to quit before most gum procedures will even be attempted, since tobacco impairs blood flow and dramatically slows healing.
Deep Cleaning for Early-Stage Recession
When recession is mild and caused by gum disease, a professional deep cleaning (called scaling and root planing) is often the first step. Your dentist or hygienist uses specialized instruments to remove tartar and bacteria from below the gumline and smooth the root surfaces so gum tissue can reattach more easily.
The goal is to eliminate the infection driving the recession. Once the bacteria are gone and inflammation subsides, your gums tighten around the teeth and stop pulling away further. However, there’s an important caveat: gums that were swollen before the cleaning will shrink as the infection resolves, which can temporarily make your teeth look slightly longer. This is actually a sign of healing, not worsening recession.
Ideally, you only need one deep cleaning. After that, regular dental visits and consistent brushing and flossing keep the bacteria from returning. Deep cleaning halts progression but does not regenerate tissue that’s already gone. If significant gum tissue has been lost, a surgical option becomes necessary.
Gum Grafting: The Standard Surgical Fix
Gum grafting remains the most established way to rebuild a receded gumline. A periodontist takes a small piece of tissue, usually from the roof of your mouth, and stitches it over the exposed root. Over several weeks, the graft integrates with your existing gum tissue and creates a new, stable gumline.
There are three main types, each suited to different situations:
- Connective tissue grafts are the most common. Tissue is taken from under a small flap in the roof of your mouth, then placed over the recession site. These typically cost $700 to $2,000 per tooth.
- Free gingival grafts take tissue directly from the palate surface rather than from under a flap. They’re often used for people with naturally thin gums who need extra thickness. Cost runs $600 to $1,200 per tooth.
- Pedicle grafts use tissue from the gum right next to the affected tooth, rotating it over to cover the exposed root. These require enough healthy gum tissue nearby to work and cost $1,000 to $3,000 per tooth.
Recovery from traditional grafting takes a few weeks. You’ll need to eat soft foods, avoid brushing the surgical site, and use a prescribed mouthwash. Expect some soreness at both the graft site and the donor site on the roof of your mouth. Most dental insurance plans cover 50% to 80% of the procedure cost when it’s deemed medically necessary. Factor in additional expenses for the initial consultation ($75 to $200), any required X-rays or 3D imaging ($100 to $300), and recovery essentials like prescription pain medication and special mouthwash, which together run $50 to $130.
The Pinhole Technique: A Less Invasive Option
For patients who want to avoid the donor site on the palate, the Pinhole Surgical Technique offers a minimally invasive alternative. Instead of cutting and stitching a graft, your periodontist makes a tiny hole in the gum tissue above the recession, then uses specialized instruments to loosen and reposition the existing gum downward over the exposed root. Small collagen strips are placed through the pinhole to stabilize the tissue in its new position. These strips gradually absorb into the gum as it heals.
The advantages are notable: no sutures, less discomfort, faster recovery, shorter time in the chair, and no tissue harvested from the roof of your mouth. The pinhole insertion points typically heal by the next day, and most people return to their normal routine quickly.
The limitation is that the technique only works when enough surrounding gum tissue remains to be repositioned. If large amounts of tissue have already been lost, a traditional graft is usually necessary instead. Any active gum infection also needs to be fully treated before the procedure can be performed.
Laser Treatment for Gum Reattachment
Laser-assisted therapy uses targeted light energy to remove infected gum tissue while leaving healthy tissue intact. The laser also stimulates the surrounding bone and tissue, encouraging your body’s natural healing process. Rather than regrowing gum tissue the way a wound heals, the procedure creates conditions that allow existing gums to reattach to the tooth surface and tighten around it.
Laser treatment works best for recession driven by gum disease, where removing the infection is the primary goal. It reduces pocket depth between the gum and tooth, which in turn reduces the visible appearance of recession. Recovery tends to be more comfortable than traditional surgery since there’s less cutting involved.
Regenerative Treatments
In cases where recession has led to bone loss around the tooth, your periodontist may use regenerative materials during surgery. One approach involves applying a protein gel derived from the same proteins that help form tooth enamel during development. When placed on the root surface, these proteins signal the surrounding stem cells to rebuild the attachment fibers between the tooth and bone, promote new blood vessel formation, and reduce inflammation in the area. This helps the body reconstruct the supporting structures rather than just covering the root with soft tissue.
Regenerative treatments are typically combined with grafting or flap surgery rather than used alone. They’re most effective for specific types of bone defects and aren’t appropriate for every case of recession. Your periodontist can assess whether your bone loss pattern makes you a good candidate.
What You Can Do at Home
No rinse, paste, or supplement will regrow lost gum tissue. Products marketed as natural gum recession remedies lack evidence for tissue regeneration. What home care can do is prevent further recession and protect the results of any professional treatment you’ve had.
Brush twice daily with a soft-bristled brush, using gentle circular motions rather than aggressive back-and-forth scrubbing. Floss daily to keep bacteria from building up below the gumline. If you notice you tend to press hard while brushing, an electric toothbrush with a pressure sensor is a worthwhile investment. Use an antimicrobial or fluoride mouthwash to help control plaque in areas your brush can’t easily reach.
Keep up with dental cleanings every six months, or more frequently if your dentist recommends it. Catching early signs of gum disease or new recession before they progress is far simpler and cheaper than repairing advanced damage.