Is Someone Who Has Had a Gum Lift More Prone to Gum Recession Later?

Healing after any type of periodontal surgery has the risk of gingival recession (average of 1mm), more so if the patient already has bone loss, gum recession or very thin gingival biotype (genetically). 

Therefore, these factors will need to be considered and surgery planned accordingly to prevent/ reduce the risk of recession.

Gum lift may imply gum graft (shortening the tooth, helping to cover an exposed tooth root) or crown lengthening (lengthening the tooth, exposing the hidden crown from underneath the gumline).

 

Gum grafting (adding your own tissue or artificial tissue together with the gum lift) can help thicken your gums which will also help to prevent recession from reoccurring and will definitely make your gums stronger. However, the single most important thing you can do to prevent the recession from reoccurring is to eliminate the original cause, which is usually plaque or trauma.

If you are referring to crown lengthening, then if the surgery is done properly, you should not be predisposed to gum recession. A surgeon will usually make sure to leave a sufficient amount of keratinized/attached (good) tissue to protect the tooth.

 

I hope this helped to answer your question.

Best,

Dr. Krivitsky

A gum lift also known as dental crown lengthening is a procedure that removed some gum and bone to reveal more tooth structure. If the attached gum tissue zone is wide and healthy there is no increased risk of gum recession after the procedure. That being said it is important for your dental surgeon to evaluate this zone of attached gingiva and gum health.