Gum Recontouring Treatment
Also referred to as a “gingivectomy”, gum recontouring allows our cosmetic dentists to reshape the edges of your gumlines. Depending on the height of your gum tissue and overall symmetry, this could involve a general gum lift or only recontouring specific teeth.
Gum recontouring is subtle, yet provides dramatic results for your overall smile. Typically, we’re able to use laser technology, which offers same day results and minimal recovery time.
What Causes a Gummy Smile?
A gummy smile can be due to numerous different factors. Here are just a few:
Genetics
If your parents had gummy smiles, chances are that you will too. This can be due to the way your mouth developed and the overall length of your teeth.
Medications you’re taking
Certain prescriptions are known for causing an overgrowth of gum tissue. Beta-blockers and medications used for blood pressure or managing cardiovascular disease are common examples.
Scar tissue
An injury, oral surgery, or even an unsuccessful tissue graft could cause the gums around certain teeth to look asymmetrical.
Hyperactive lip muscle
When you smile, there are muscles inside of your lip that pull it upward. The tighter the muscle pulls, the higher your lip lifts. Overactive lip muscles can leave you with what looks like a gummy smile, even if everything is otherwise proportionate.
Excess skin
Some of us have naturally thicker, higher gumlines than other people. It may not be due to an outside factor whatsoever.
Short teeth
Sometimes teeth appear short when they are actually covered by more gums than they ought to be. Perhaps they never erupted as far out of the gum tissues enough to reveal the full “anatomical crown” above the root.
Gum disease and gingivitis
Gum inflammation can cause your teeth to look short and your smile to appear “gummy.” Gingival inflammation is the first stage of gingivitis and gum disease. Left untreated, it will eventually lead to receding gumlines and tooth loss.
What to Expect During Treatment
- Most of our gummy smile reductions are performed using a soft tissue laser. Dental lasers are FDA-approved for safe and gentle gingivectomy procedures. Although numbing is not always necessary, we may apply a bit of topical gel to desensitize your gums prior to the procedure.
- Next, we use the thin tip of the dental laser to pinpoint and trace the new, exact contour of your gumlines. You may feel a little bit of warmth, but nothing too irritating. Thanks to the slight cauterization effect of the laser, our gum lifts are minimally invasive with practically no swelling, bleeding, or downtime needed for recovery. The results are instantaneous.
- Laser gum therapy is gentler and more efficient than conventional gum surgeries. No bandages or stitches are required. A mild over-the-counter pain reliever may not even be necessary because of how comfortable the process actually is.
A Part of Our Comprehensive Cosmetic Menu
Gingival recontouring is an excellent complement to your smile makeover. Our cosmetic dentistry team can incorporate various discreet treatments to enhance the full appearance of your smile. By recontouring both your teeth and gums, smoothing over small flaws with dental bonding, or even adding on a bleaching treatment, your smile can quickly become your most prized accessory.
Should I Have a Gummy Smile Reduction?
To reduce the height of your gumlines, our cosmetic dentists need to evaluate the anatomy of the tooth, first. If excess tissue is retracted, it could potentially expose the yellower root surface of your teeth. At that point, there would be additional aesthetic concerns.
But if there is ample tooth enamel to be uncovered, we can precisely adjust the gumlines to follow the anatomical crown behind them.
Choosing the Best Cosmetic Dentist
If you’re going to complete a gummy smile treatment, you need an experienced cosmetic dentist who can provide the level of artistry that recontouring requires. Each adjustment occurs at fractions of a millimeter, instantly impacting the overall shape of your smile.
At Wellness Dental, we provide aesthetic gum lifts as a stand-alone service as well as one used to compliment other cosmetic treatments (such as veneers, porcelain crowns, or dental implants.)
Functional Gum Lifts
Crown lengthening is another type of gum recontouring treatment that serves a therapeutic role, rather than a cosmetic one. If you have pocketing around teeth because of past gum disease, or a tooth is too short to place a crown, we can provide “crown lengthening” to reduce the height of the gum around it. This periodontal treatment helps to improve oral hygiene and extend the overall life of your tooth in question.
