The regeneration of gingiva: its potential value for the recession of healthy gingiva.

The partial withdrawal of healthy gingiva not only affects the appearance but also can bring about some complaints when the healthy gingiva is stimulated for some reasons. The junctional epithelium of gingiva moves to the root with aging, and compared with the tooth crown, the tooth root which has lower mineral content is prone to decay. Thus, gingival recession could lead to the root surface decay and make the tooth sensitive. Gingival recession is not reversible. Once the healthy gingiva shrinked, the teeth could feel uncomfortable, food impaction appeared and the original restorations have to be dismantled with new restorations on account of the exposure of coronal edges. Then the regeneration of gingiva is important. In this article, a hypothesis is proposed that free gingiva could get back to the former non-recessive location through guiding the healthy junctional epithelium to propagate along the crowns. Then the gingiva not only restores the beautiful outlook but also returns the natural barrier function.