Treatment of gum recession in Amman: Doctors and Clinics

Gum recession is the migration of the gum margin away from its normal position so that part of the tooth root becomes exposed. The tooth looks longer, a darker band appears at the gum line, and the exposed root often turns sensitive to cold air, cold drinks and brushing. Treating gum recession is not one operation: it is a plan that begins by removing the cause and only then considers surgical root coverage where there is a clear indication for it.

The causes seen most often in practice are aggressive horizontal brushing or a hard-bristled brush, long-standing plaque and calculus with chronic gum inflammation that erodes the thin bone plate in front of the root, a genetically thin gum biotype, a root sitting outside the bony arch because of crowding or rapid orthodontic movement, night-time clenching, filling or crown margins that encroach on the gum, a tight mucosal frenum that pulls the gum margin whenever the lip moves, and lip or tongue piercings.

Non-surgical care comes first: correcting brushing technique and switching to a soft brush, removing calculus and smoothing the root surfaces, desensitising the exposed root with in-office agents or a dedicated toothpaste, reshaping an offending restoration, providing a night guard for grinding, and charting every recession site so the dentist can tell whether it is stable or progressing. Many shallow, stable recessions need nothing beyond monitoring and a change of habit.

Surgery is considered when the recession is progressing, when sensitivity or root wear persists, or when the aesthetic impact is genuinely troubling. Options include a connective tissue graft harvested from the palate, tunnel and coronally advanced flap techniques, and processed graft substitutes. The choice depends on tissue thickness, defect depth and the condition of the papillae between the teeth.

The limits matter as much as the technique. Root coverage does not rebuild bone that has already been lost, it cannot recreate an interdental papilla that has disappeared, and it treats neither decay nor staining. It also will not prevent recurrence while the original cause continues. Not every site is a candidate: where bone between the teeth is significantly reduced, expected coverage is lower. Suitability is decided by clinical examination, pocket measurements and tissue assessment, never from reading an article or from a phone photograph.