Can fillers help with receding gums?

Doctor's Answer

Black triangles can appear as a result of:

1) Orthodontic treatment

This is very common in patients who present with severe crowding and especially where the necks of the teeth (around the gumline) are in contact with one another.

Potential areas at risk of developing black triangles

^ Areas at high risk of black triangle formation.

Black triangles become obvious after alignment

^ Black triangles appear interdentally after alignment.

This is due to the lack of interdental bone at the start of treatment. The bone level does not change even after tooth alignment so when the gum remodels during tooth movement, the "hidden recession" that was there all along is revealed.

2) Treatment for periodontal (gum) disease

The same issue can arise when the inflammation from untreated gum disease is finally resolved.

Since the gum disease process has gradually destroyed the underlying bone, the gum contour collapses to follow it.

In both scenarios, the lack of underlying bone that is necessary to support the gum tissue in the papilla area is the cause of the black triangles.

Interdental stripping (IPR) and braces/Invisalign can reduce the size of the black triangles.

Injectable fillers (made from hyaluronic acid) are designed to increase the volume of soft tissue only. Soft tissue includes the gum. This may temporarily plump up the papilla by stretching it out but once the filler resorbs, the black triangle will again become visible.

There are other injectable filler materials that are made from calcium hydroxylapatite (Radiesse) that may perform differently in the long term compared to hyaluronic acid fillers.

It is not known how long the effect of using a hyaluronic acid injectable filler will last in the mouth. Initial case reports only reported follow ups within 4-6 months.

There is a report (Bertl, K, Gotfredsen, K, Jensen, SS, Bruckmann, C, Stavropoulos, A. Adverse reaction after hyaluronan injection for minimally invasive papilla volume augmentation. A report on two cases. Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 28, 2017, 871– 876.) on adverse reactions (swelling, extreme tenderness and a burning sensation in the lip next to the injection site, skin changes/discolouration) to injectable hyaluronic acid filler used for papilla regeneration.

Ask any health question for free

I’m not so sure about a procedure...

Ask Icon Ask a Question

Join Human

Sign up now for a free Human account to get answers from specialists in Singapore.

Sign Up

Get The Pill

Be healthier with our Bite-sized health news straight in your inbox