peeling/receeding gums

     I'm a 19-year-old female and in the last year my gums have receeded quite drastically. I hear the usual causes for this are gum disease, brushing the wrong way, and using whiting toothpaste or mouthwash.
     I used whitening toothpaste for a few years and when I started I had problems with peeling gums, but the recession hasn't started until the last year. I've been using non-whitening toothpaste for a few months and they are peeling less, but still peeling.
     I went to the dentist and he said I had no gum disease and just said I must be brushing too hard. But this was awhile ago and I've cut back to brushing only twice a day and have been much more gentle-I'm sure this is not the problem.
     What else could be causing this sudden and fairly drastic recession?

[LilHypochondriac]

If they're only receding in the front, you might have the same issue as me.  I'm 20 and my gums started receding rapidly this year.  3mm in less than 6 months!  I found out the cause was my frenum on my lower gums was attached too high and just got a frenectomy today.  My dentist didn't have a clue why my gums were receding, but they referred me to a periodontist who immediately told me that was the cause.

But you should try to get it taken care of asap...I'm also going to need a gum graft now because I waited so long to get it checked out =(

Good luck!

[hellokitty123]

they are more receeded in the front, but they are also receeding everywhere else too

[LilHypochondriac]

well i did have the peeling gums too, especially from whitening toothpaste, and brushed too hard and at least three times a day, for at least 3 minutes every time.  i've heard you actually shouldn't brush longer than 2 minutes at a time because it can damage your gums.  and the pressure you're supposed to apply when you brush is supposed to be equal to the weight of an orange...which is a little hard to gauge but it's a lot less than you'd think!  but my advice would be to see a periodontist...i first talked to my dentist when it started and all they said was "oh yeah, it's receding alright" but that was it.  the next time i went in it was 3mm receded and they sent me to a periodontist who immediately diagnosed the cause.  they're the specialists.  and if you don't need to get anything done it won't cost that much for the checkup...mine was $100 but that's in FL where all dental work is basically twice as much.  then the frenectomy was $500 and i haven't even gotten to the gum graft to see the price of that!  so your best bet is to get checked out and PREVENT further problems rather than correct them.  good luck!

OH one more thing, grinding/clenching teeth can cause gum recession