As my teeth are being violently pulled every which way by my braces, I have come to ponder how gums work.
As my teeth move up - move vertically away from my jaw - are the gums coming with them, or are the gums filling in the space that’s left? Are they growing quickly or just moving?
If I recall correctly from my basketball days, if I were to move my finger bone up and out of the socket where it’s meant to be, there’d be a rush of fluid sent by the body to fill in that hole and there’s alot of swelling.
But with my teeth, they’re being moved from the sockets where they’re meant to be and even though it hurts for a few days there doesn’t seem to be any swelling or fluid filling up in there. Just alot of tenderness.
Am I constantly growing new gums?
And what are gums made out of? They don’t really seem to be made out of the same stuff that, say, my skin is made of.