A “gummy smile” occurs when a patient smiles and excessive gum tissue is displayed. This happens for many reasons. For many patients, they are born with an excess amount of gum tissue that covers their teeth, causing them to appear much shorter than they actually are. The teeth are “hidden” beneath the gums. This “gummy smile” can be treated with a procedure known as esthetic crown lengthening. This involves removing some of the excess gum tissues to expose more of the natural tooth crown and recontouring the gums for an esthetic natural appearance.
Often times, a tooth requires a crown to be made due to a large cavity or if it is broken below the gum line. Sometimes the future crown margin will end up underneath the gum level and too close to the bone level of the tooth. In such cases, a procedure known as functional crown lengthening is needed in order to adjust the levels of the bone and gums to expose more tooth structure and allow for a properly fitting crown to be made.
What Does the Procedure Entail?
Crown lengthening is normally performed under local anesthetic. The duration of the procedure is typically one hour but will depend on how many teeth are being treated and whether any amount of bone needs to be removed. The procedure involves removing the excess gum tissue, and re-contouring the gums to expose more of the natural tooth. Once Dr. Kashlan achieves an aesthetically pleasing crown length, the treated area is sutured back to establish the new gum-tooth relation. Immediately after the procedure, you will notice the initial esthetics as your teeth will look noticeably longer because the gums have been recontoured. The surgical site should be completely healed in approximately two to three months following the procedure.
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