but, in a sense it doesn't matter; what i needed to know was how it could be that excess collagen and deficient collagen could lead to the same result. but, i get it now - you can both have actual, literal receding gums (collagen deficiency, or collagenase excess) and emulate the effect of it by having an expanding jaw (excess collagen, manifested in that specific way).
it's ultimately because collagen is a medium rather than a mechanism; it's the thing that other cells grow in, and depending on where it ends up it can have opposite outcomes.
for me, i'm going to need to find a way to emulate a graft, regardless - so it doesn't matter if my bones are overgrowing or my gums are receding. i fix it by doing the same thing.
ok.
next step....