Gum Pain

I have a pain in the gum above my left canine that doesn't seem to make sense. Eating, pressing on it, and up/down brushing doesn't hurt it at all, but side-to-side brushing causes pain that radiates from the gum and down into the tooth. I can see a very small red spot, that resembles a small vein at the origin of pain. I'm wondering if this is an exposed nerve because the tooth itself is fine. I know that I do brush my teeth hard and for longer than 3 minutes (I'm working on stopping that!), so the gum could have receded. Is that the case, or something else?

[scottma]

Gum recession generally does'nt cause pain. Seeing a dentist is advised.