Why Do My Teeth Look Longer? Receding Gums Explained

By Dr Gita Auplish, Specialist Periodontist & Co-Founder, Bandlish & Auplish Dental Surgery

Patients rarely come to me and say “I think my gums are receding.” What they say is: “My teeth look longer than they used to.” Or: “There’s a bit of my tooth that feels rough when I run my tongue over it.” Or, most often, “Something’s changed and I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

They are all describing the same thing. Gum recession is one of the most common reasons people are referred to me, and it is one of the most commonly misunderstood.

What receding gums actually are

Gum recession is the gum tissue gradually pulling back from the tooth, exposing part of the root underneath. The crown of your tooth, the part designed to be on show, is covered in enamel. The root is not. It is covered in a much softer material called cementum, and it was never meant to be exposed to your toothbrush, your morning coffee, or the air.

That is why recession is not only a cosmetic issue. It changes how your tooth behaves.

What causes it

There are three main culprits, and they are not the ones most people expect.

Gum disease. This is the one people do expect, and it is where the old phrase “long in the tooth” comes from. As gum disease progresses, it destroys the bone and tissue that hold the gum in place, and the gum line drops.

Overbrushing. This surprises almost everyone. Brushing too hard, with a brush that is too stiff, or with a scrubbing motion rather than a gentle angled sweep, physically wears the gum away over years. I see it constantly in patients who are, by their own account, “really good about brushing”. They are brushing diligently. They are just brushing wrongly. If you are pressing hard enough to splay the bristles on your toothbrush, you are pressing too hard.

Grinding and clenching. Bruxism puts enormous lateral force through the teeth, and over time that force is transmitted into the bone and gum at the neck of the tooth. Many people grind in their sleep and have no idea they are doing it until someone points out the flattened biting edges or the notches at the gum line.

There are other contributing factors too, including thin gum tissue you were simply born with, teeth that sit slightly outside the arch, old orthodontic movement, and smoking. Hormonal changes during the menopause can also make gum tissue thinner and more vulnerable, which is why some women notice recession appearing in their 50s having never had a problem before.

Why it matters beyond appearance

The exposed root is the problem. Three things follow from it:

1. Sensitivity. The root surface has tiny channels running to the nerve. Cold air, cold drinks, and sweet foods can produce that sharp, short jolt of pain that makes people wince when they inhale on a cold morning.
2. Decay risk. Root surfaces are softer than enamel and decay far more readily. Root caries is difficult to restore well and is one of the main reasons older patients lose otherwise healthy teeth.
3. It tends to progress. This is the part I most want people to hear. Recession does not usually stabilise on its own if the cause has not been addressed.

Do receding gums grow back?

No. This is the honest answer and it is worth being clear about it, because there is a great deal of misleading information online about oil pulling, special toothpastes, and gum-regrowth supplements.

Gum tissue does not regenerate by itself. Once it has receded, it stays receded unless it is surgically replaced.

What you can do is stop it getting worse, and that is genuinely achievable in the majority of cases. If the cause is gum disease, treating the disease halts the recession. If the cause is your brushing technique, changing the technique halts it. If it is grinding, a night guard protects the teeth. And where the recession is already significant, a gum graft can replace the lost tissue and cover the exposed root.

The 10-second check you can do tonight

You do not need a mirror and a torch to spot a problem. Here is what I tell patients to look for:

Colour. Healthy gums are pink, firm and tight. Red, puffy or shiny gums are not healthy.

Bleeding. If your gums bleed when you brush, that is not normal, whatever you have been told.

Length. Do your teeth look longer than they did in photographs from a few years ago? Old photos are surprisingly useful evidence.

A step at the gum line. Run your tongue along the gum line. A notch or ledge where the enamel ends usually means the root is exposed.

Sensitivity. Particularly to cold and to sweet things, in a specific spot rather than everywhere.

If more than one of these applies to you, it is worth getting assessed properly rather than waiting to see whether it settles.

How recession is treated

Treatment always begins with the cause, not the symptom. There is no point grafting tissue over a root if the disease or the habit that caused the recession is still active, because the graft will simply recede too.

So the sequence is: diagnose the cause, stabilise it, then restore what has been lost if it is appropriate to do so.

That might mean periodontal treatment to clear the infection, coaching on brushing technique with the right tools, a night guard for grinding, desensitising treatment for the exposed roots, composite bonding to cover a notch, or a gum graft where the recession is deep, progressing, or affecting your confidence in your smile.

At your consultation I take X-rays and measure the gum around every tooth, which tells me how much bone is supporting each one. That measurement is what determines which options are realistically on the table.

When to come in

If your teeth look longer, if you have a patch of sensitivity that will not settle, or if you have noticed your gum line changing over the past year, please get it looked at. Recession caught early gives you the widest range of options and the best cosmetic result. Recession left for a decade narrows those options considerably.

Frequently asked questions

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Dr Gita Auplish is a specialist periodontist (GDC 71011) and co-founder of Bandlish & Auplish Dental Surgery on Harley Street. She holds a Master’s degree in Periodontology and her Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons, and works as a Consultant at King’s College Hospital, London, where she trains the next generation of specialist periodontists.

Worried about receding gums? Book a consultation with Dr Gita at Bandlish & Auplish or call 020 7436 9804.