Gummy Smile
If you aren’t satisfied with the way your smile looks there are many conventional dental treatments for correcting crooked, broken, or otherwise blemished teeth.
But what about your gums?
What if you have a smile that is too “gummy”?
Gummy Smile Correction Procedure
A gummy smile is a common aesthetic complaint across all age groups.
A beautiful smile is commonly characterized by facial and dental symmetry and the proportions of one’s teeth to their gums. Too little gums and the teeth may appear overly pronounced, giving you an aged appearance. That’s where the common idiom about old age, “long in the tooth,” comes from.
However, many people suffer from the opposite problem. They have too much visible gingival tissue in proportion to their teeth. People with gummy smiles may have teeth that appear stubby, short, or small in relation to their mouths. This is called having a “gummy smile.”
A gummy smile can be caused by a variety of factors that affect the proportion of your gums to your teeth.
Thin lips, hyperactive upper lips, and overgrowth of the lower jaw can all throw the proportions of your smile off, resulting in a gummy-looking smile.
The most common cause of a gummy smile is simply an overgrowth of the gums called hyperplasia. Patients with hyperplasia have gums that grow past the usual gumline causing their teeth to look short or stubby.
Fortunately, periodontists have developed a simple solution for those with gummy smiles, or teeth that look too short, known as gum recontouring.
Gum Contouring: Shape Up Your Gums With A Crown Lengthening Procedure
Gum contouring is also referred to as crown lengthening, which can be completed in a single appointment with your periodontist.
A skilled periodontist can contour and reshape your gums by removing excessive gum tissues to expose more of your teeth. By reshaping your gums, this can give you a broader, brighter, and more attractive smile.
Gum Contouring: What is It? What Does It Cost? Does It Hurt?
Following are some common questions we hear a lot from our patients.
How do I know if a gum contouring procedure is right for me?
Does gum contouring hurt?
How long does the procedure take?
How much does it cost to reshape my gums?
How do I know if a gummy smile correction procedure is right for me?
If you feel like your teeth look too small or are not in proportion to your gums, then gum recontouring might be a great solution. To be sure, however, Cutting Edge Periodontist will provide a free consultation to determine if crown lengthening is right for you.
How long does the gummy smile (crown lengthening) procedure take?
Reshaping your gums is a relatively painless experience. We use local anesthetics to numb your gingival tissue. During the procedure, the only pain you will experience is the slight prick of local injections of anesthetics.
After the procedure, your gums may experience mild discomfort or some swelling. Most discomfort disappears a few days following the procedure.
How much does it cost to reshape my gums?
The cost of a gummy smile correction will depend on several factors, such as:
The extensiveness of the planned gum contouring procedure
If additional preliminary preparations are necessary
Whether or not the treatment is covered by insurance
Costs can be calculated per tooth or for the whole mouth. As a rough estimate, per-tooth costs for crown lengthening run between $100 to $500. A full-arch treatment may cost as much as $3,000. Of course, prices will vary based on the severity of the gummy smile. I recommend an initial consultation to determine the right treatment plan and the appropriate costs based on the situation.
There is a solution to a gummy smile
Are you looking for solutions to a gummy smile? Look no further than Cutting Edge Periodontist. We have the state of the art technology, expertise, and patient care program to be on the cutting edge of cosmetic and periodontal dentistry.
