I 'dipped' every once in a while through high school and into college. My use of chewing tobacco was quite infrequent. I've only bought a few cans in my life, and would average a few (1-5) dips in a month. I knew the shit was evil, but occasionally enjoyed the buzz it produced. Then, nearly three years ago, I found myself in a living situation with two good buddies who chew often. This upped my use of the stuff (normally Grizzly, horrid shit) and soon the side of my mouth where I normally dipped became sore. This caused me to transfer to the very front of my lower gum line, where the gums are the thinnest. Also, I had never dipped there before. Within three days of use, a few dips a day, this whole section of gum became inflamed and started to hurt. Within a week, my gum line had receded to within two-three millimeters of the roots of my teeth. Just yesterday, I finally underwent the surgery to fix it. I had a skin graft taken from the roof of my mouth sutured into my freshly lacerated gum line. It was a horrible experience and has taught me a valuable lesson. I knew of the dangers associated with tobacco use. Yet, I never would have anticipated such an outcome from such limited use.

TL;DR: I used chewing tobacco for three days on a thin portion of gum that hadn't experienced it before. Those three days of use caused my gum line to recede nearly to the roots of my teeth. I just paid the price, undergoing a skin graft which totally sucked ass (not literally, the graft was taken from the roof of my mouth; but that would have been an awesome pun). AMA.