Excess tissue is part of the body’s response to irritation. The immune system kicks and get there by fluid leaking out of blood vessels. The tissue puffs up and swells. Sometimes, fibrous tissue forms, like scar tissue to protect the body. The gum in this situation has a tendency to grow to the nearest firm object.

An example is wire used in braces. This wire can actively move teeth but also it can be use to stop teeth moving. In the example, for this blog, is a fixed retainer used to stop teeth moving. This is used after orthodontic treatment has been completed and a wire is bonded on the teeth moving for the long term. The wire is usually bonded behind the front teeth as a horizontal line to splint the teeth. 

Often this wire can be close to gum and is difficult to clean, so bacteria can collect on the wire and then irritate the gum. The gum swells in response and sometimes excess tissue forms grows under the wire. 

Major nuisance!

The body is not helping itself as the excess tissue can thicken and make it hard to clean and hide more germs. So, it swells more and so on. Enter the dentist. We carefully remove the excess tissue to below the wire to enable toothbrush bristles to clean the area under the wire and the wire itself.