Best Toothpaste for Receding Gums
Struggling with selecting the best toothpaste for receding gums?
There’s a few out there. Each manufacturer claims they are the solution to stop further gum recession or curb the symptoms caused by it.
And unsurprisingly, this toothpaste doesn’t come cheap.
For that reason, it’s important to ensure you’re buying the right toothpaste for both your gum health and your pocket.
In this article, we’ll look at two of the best toothpastes for receding gums and see if they are right for you.
Corsodyl toothpaste
Manufacturers claim to fame
Corsodyl has established itself as the go-to brand for people who suffer from bleeding gums.
As well as receding gums toothpaste, they manufacture mouthwash and their products are aimed at helping to prevent gum disease.
The theory is if we can prevent gum disease then we can prevent receding gums.
How Corsodyl toothpaste works
The active ingredient which works its magic is called chlorhexidine.
This works as an antiseptic in your mouth. Corsodyl toothpaste has been shown to have many uses including fighting oral thrush, relieving mouth ulcers, cleaning wisdom teeth and improving gum disease, which is a cause of gum recession.
Issues with Corsodyl toothpaste
Staining is a major problem with the frequent use of chlorhexidine toothpaste. Horseshoe shape marks can form around your gum line and between your teeth and these are difficult to remove without a professional clean.
It can also cause taste disturbances and some temporary tingling of your tongue and cheeks.
Lastly and quite frankly, it tastes disgusting. Most of us are looking for a minty, fresh breath after brushing our teeth and you’re not going to get that with Corsodyl.
My professional advice
Corsodyl toothpaste can help halt receding gums caused by gum disease, but I’d only recommend using it if directed to by your dentist.
Why?
Corsodyl toothpaste will not correct the underlying cause of gum disease and only professional treatment by your dentist can do this.
It should only be used as a supplemental aid once the cause of your receding gums has been established.
Think of it like correcting dampness on a wall, and the toothpaste is the paint. If you simply paint over the damp it’ll come back and the underlying problem will continue to worsen.
Sensodyne toothpaste
Manufacturers claim to fame
Sensodyne have established itself as the number one toothpaste that reduces sensitivity caused by receding gums.
It doesn’t claim to help prevent gum disease or receding gums, but reduce the symptoms caused by it.
How Sensodyne toothpaste works
Sensitive receding gums toothpaste contains magic ingredients called potassium and strontium.
Sensitivity occurs with receding gums as the surface now exposed in your mouth has tiny microscopic holes in it. If something gets in the holes then you get a sharp shooting pain.
Simply put, Sensodyne toothpaste works by clogging up the holes in your tooth surface and preventing anything from getting in them.
Issues with Sensodyne toothpaste
The barrier formed by the toothpaste can take up to two weeks to become effective.
This barrier can also degrade as quickly as it builds up, so if you stop using the toothpaste then the sensitivity can come back. This means continual usage is necessary.
My professional advice
It does work!
If you have sensitive teeth then using this twice daily should help you (which hurts me to say after they rejected my audition to appear in their TV ad!) Of course, there are other brands out there that will do a similar job such as Colgate Sensitivity Pro-Relief. Most sensitive toothpaste does the same thing.
An important tip is after brushing, NEVER rinse your mouth with water. If you do you’ve washed the toothpaste off and the layer won’t form.
Lastly, if you’ve got a particularly annoying area of sensitivity around a receded gum then squirt the toothpaste onto your finger and rub it in over the area before bed and in the day between meals. The more the toothpaste is over the area the quicker the pain will resolve.
And importantly…
There are many causes of gum recession and it’s incredibly difficult to reverse once you have it.
It’s crucial you go to your dentist and establish why your gums are receding to prevent any further advancement.
Even the best toothpaste for gum recession only works in combination with professional treatment from your dentist.
Find out more about our receding gums professional treatment at Smile Stories and book your free video consultation.
AUTHOR
Dr Gareth Edwards BDS (Hons) MFDS RCPS (Glasg) qualified from dental school with honours. Now practising in the Bournemouth & Poole area, he has a keen interest in orthodontics and aesthetic dentistry.
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