Receding gums can be treated with approaches ranging from professional deep cleaning to surgical grafting, depending on how far the recession has progressed. Mild cases often respond to non-surgical methods that halt the process and allow gums to tighten back around the teeth, while moderate to severe recession typically requires a grafting procedure to restore lost tissue. The right treatment depends on the depth of your gum pockets, the amount of tissue already lost, and whether the underlying cause (gum disease, aggressive brushing, or both) is under control.
Deep Cleaning for Early-Stage Recession
The first line of treatment for recession caused by gum disease is scaling and root planing, a two-part deep cleaning performed below the gumline. During scaling, your dentist removes all plaque and hardened tartar from the tooth surface down to the bottom of the gum pocket. Root planing follows: the tooth roots are smoothed so the gum tissue can reattach more easily. The procedure often requires local anesthetic and may take more than one visit to complete.
A few weeks after the cleaning, your dentist will check how well your gums have healed by measuring pocket depth. Healthy gum pockets are typically 1 to 3 millimeters deep. If the pockets haven’t shrunk enough, additional treatment is needed. The average cost for scaling and root planing runs about $242 per quadrant of the mouth, with prices ranging from $185 to $444 depending on your location and the severity of buildup.
In some cases, your dentist will also place a medicated gel containing an antibiotic directly into the gum pocket after cleaning. The gel is sealed under a periodontal pack for up to 10 days and works locally to reduce the bacteria driving the infection. This targeted approach helps stabilize results, especially in pockets that haven’t responded well to cleaning alone.
Gum Grafting Surgery
When recession has exposed tooth roots or progressed beyond what deep cleaning can fix, gum grafting is the standard surgical treatment. The procedure transplants tissue to the area where gums have pulled away, covering exposed roots and rebuilding the gumline. Success rates for gum grafts are above 90% when patients follow pre- and post-operative instructions. Three main types of grafts are used, each suited to different situations.
Connective Tissue Graft
This is the most common approach for exposed tooth roots. A surgeon creates a small flap in the roof of your mouth and removes a piece of connective tissue from underneath, then stitches it over the exposed root. It’s often reserved for patients with significant tissue damage from advanced gum disease, where a larger area of root needs coverage.
Free Gingival Graft
This graft also uses tissue from the roof of the mouth, but takes a smaller, thinner piece directly from the surface rather than from under a flap. It’s typically chosen when the gums are thin and need reinforcement rather than extensive rebuilding. The smaller tissue sample allows for more precise reshaping, which can offer better cosmetic results in mild to moderate cases.
Pedicle Graft
Instead of harvesting tissue from the roof of your mouth, this technique uses gum tissue from right next to the recession site. The surgeon partially cuts a flap of nearby gum, rotates it over the exposed area, and stitches it in place. Because the tissue stays partially connected to its original blood supply, healing can be more reliable. The catch: you need enough healthy gum tissue near the affected tooth for there to be tissue to spare.
The national average cost for gum graft surgery is around $2,742, though it can range from $2,120 to nearly $5,000 depending on complexity, the number of teeth involved, and geographic location.
Laser Treatment
Laser-assisted periodontal therapy is a less invasive alternative to traditional gum surgery. Rather than cutting and suturing tissue, the procedure uses a specialized laser to remove diseased tissue from gum pockets while leaving healthy tissue intact. Human clinical trials have confirmed that this approach can stimulate genuine regeneration of the structures that anchor teeth, including new bone growth, not just disease management.
Clinical outcomes are measured by reductions in pocket depth, decreased bleeding, stabilized bone levels, and long-term tooth retention. Studies have documented meaningful reductions in the specific bacteria that drive periodontal disease after laser treatment, which helps keep results stable over time. Long-term data show high rates of tooth retention even in cases where teeth were significantly compromised before treatment. Recovery tends to be faster and less painful than conventional surgery, since no incisions or sutures are involved.
What Recovery Looks Like After Grafting
The first 24 hours after a gum graft are the most restrictive. Your diet should be limited to cold liquids: yogurt, smoothies, milkshakes, or nutritional shakes. Avoid carbonated drinks, alcohol, and straws, all of which can dislodge the graft or increase bleeding. After the first day, you can move to soft foods like cooked vegetables, pasta, and fish, but you’ll need to eat with utensils and avoid chewing near the surgical site for two weeks.
Oral hygiene around the graft site requires patience. You should brush and floss the rest of your mouth starting the day after surgery, but avoid the surgical area entirely until your post-operative visit. Electric toothbrushes and water flossers are off-limits for eight weeks. Smoking is the single biggest risk to graft survival because nicotine restricts blood flow to healing tissue. Most periodontists require patients to stop smoking for at least eight weeks after surgery.
Sutures come out at the one-month visit. Follow-up appointments are typically scheduled at one week, four weeks, eight weeks, and one year after the procedure. Full healing and tissue maturation takes several months, but most patients notice significant improvement in comfort and appearance within the first few weeks.
Why Some Grafts Fail
A failed gum graft means the transplanted tissue didn’t integrate properly with the existing gums. The most common reasons are infection, disrupted blood supply to the graft, and smoking during the recovery period. Patients with advanced gum disease, naturally thin gum tissue, or systemic health conditions like uncontrolled diabetes face a higher risk of partial failure. Following aftercare instructions closely is the most effective thing you can do to protect the graft, but even with perfect compliance, complications can occasionally occur. If a graft does fail, a second procedure is usually possible once the area has fully healed.
Preventing Recession From Returning
Treatment only lasts if the habits that caused the recession change. Aggressive brushing is one of the most common culprits, and it’s also one of the easiest to fix. Use a toothbrush with soft or extra-soft bristles and replace the head every three to four months, or sooner if the bristles look frayed. Harvard Health recommends electric toothbrushes over manual ones because the vibrations remove plaque more effectively than hand motion alone, reducing the temptation to press harder.
Technique matters as much as the brush. Tilt the bristles at a 45-degree angle to the gumline and use short up-and-down strokes from the gum to the chewing surface, one tooth at a time. For the inside surfaces of front teeth, hold the brush vertically and use the same short strokes. This approach cleans thoroughly without the sawing back-and-forth motion that wears gum tissue down over time.
Beyond brushing, consistent flossing and regular dental cleanings (usually every three to six months for patients with a history of gum disease) keep bacterial buildup from restarting the cycle. If you grind your teeth at night, a custom mouthguard can protect both your enamel and your gumline from the mechanical stress that contributes to recession.