Every millimeter of gum lost exposes more root, more sensitivity, and more risk. At Annapolis Dental Center in Annapolis, recession care starts by finding the cause, brushing trauma, grinding, or disease, then protecting what is exposed with the gentlest method that works.
Why Gums Recede
Recession is rarely mysterious once you know where to look. Hard brushing with stiff bristles sees the gum edge literally scrubbed away over a decade. Gum disease eats at the same environment from below. Grinding presses teeth out of position so their supporting bone chars down. Tobacco dehydrates and starves the tissue itself. The result always ends up as root surface that was never meant to see daylight.
Once we name your driver, management gets specific, not generic. That may be a technique reset, a night guard, gum disease therapy, root coverage referral, or a combination. What it never is: a generic “watch it.”
- Aggressive brushing wears the margin down
- Gum disease loosens attachment below
- Grinding drives bone and tissue loss from force
- Tobacco and piercings accelerate it all
Care Without Surgery Wherever Possible
The conservative-first pathway
Map the Recession
We measure recession depth, tissue width, and sensitivity so the actual pattern, not a guess, drives decisions.
Stop the Cause
Technique coaching, a night guard against grinding, or gum disease control first. Treating the symptom while the cause runs wastes your time.
Protect the Root
Desensitizers, fluoride varnish, or small bonded coverage where the sensitivity or exposure calls for it.
Refer When Warranted
Severe cosmetic or root-coverage needs get referred to trusted periodontist partners, honestly, and followed up on.
Sensitivity Relief, Root Protection
Exposed roots carry no enamel. They answer cold, sweet, and touch with a zing most patients know too well. Desensitizing treatments work by sealing the tiny tubules in the root surface, and the improvement is typically noticeable within a couple of applications.
For some patients a thin bonded layer of composite at the recession line changes life: the zing disappears, and the exposed surface is suddenly protected like enamel again. Where recession extends past what conservative care solves, honest grafting conversations happen, not postponed panic.
- In-office desensitizers that actually show results
- Bonded coverage where the root needs a shield
- Guards against the grind behind the recession
- Honest referrals when grafting wins
A Reasonable Plan, Not a Panic
Cause-First Practice
We never protect the symptom and ignore the driver. That sequence is the whole discipline of recession care.
Relief Comes First
Painful roots get silenced quickly with desensitizing treatment while the long-term plan unfolds.
Measured, Not Watched
Recession depths get recorded and compared at every visit, so the rate of change is real data.
Affordable to Maintain
Smile Advantage members save 25% on treatment, and Cherry financing spreads larger restorations.