Excessive gum tissue can significantly detract from your smile, almost as much as crooked teeth do. Fortunately, a periodontist can provide cosmetic treatments to correct the problems caused by a gummy smile.
The causes of a gummy smile vary. Abnormal eruption of the teeth during childhood or other congenital issues can create a situation in which the teeth appear to be unusually small. Sometimes, patients may develop excessive gum tissue as a result of hormonal changes during puberty or pregnancy. Certain medications and health conditions can also influence the rate of growth of gum tissue.
The specifics of your case and how the excessive gingival display (the medical term for “gummy smile”) developed will influence the particular intervention that the periodontist will use to enhance your smile.
Many patients will benefit from a crown lengthening procedure to bring the crowns of the teeth into the correct proportions in comparison to the gums. With this procedure, excess gum tissue and sometimes bone tissue is removed or reshaped to expose more of the tooth’s crown. Crown lengthening can be performed on a single tooth, a small number of teeth or along the entire gum line.
Crown lengthening can also be used to expose more tooth material in a tooth that has experienced significant decay or broken underneath the gum line.
In some cases, incorrect positioning of the lips may create the appearance of a gummy smile. If this is a problem for you, a lip repositioning in which the upper lip is lowered may improve your smile’s aesthetics. This Gummy Tuck™ removes a small strip of tissue from the upper lip and the exposed area is lowered and sutured into place. The entire procedure takes approximately 30-45 minutes.
Patients with excessive gum tissue have options to improve the appearance of their smiles. Call PerioNYC at 212-756-8890 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced and expert periodontists to learn more about the interventions that can eliminate your gummy smile.
