If you?ve looked in the mirror or noticed in pictures that you have more gums showing than teeth when you smile, you may want to consult about ?gummy smile treatments? to help more of your natural teeth shine through. ?This is something that we do here in our Newport Beach office!
What Causes a Gummy Smile?
When the contour of your gumlines cover more tooth structure than it should, it can leave your teeth appearing shorter than they actually are. There are a number of different reasons why this can happen. Here are just a few of the more common ones:
Medications ? Specific types of prescription drugs (especially those taken for cardiovascular health conditions) can cause an overgrowth of gum tissue, making your body form more gingiva along the teeth.
Tooth alignment ? Misaligned teeth can stretch and distort the gum tissues around them.
Genetics ? When looking at your parents? smiles, do they tend to have a ?gummy? look to them as well? It could have to do with natural anatomy that you?ve inherited from previous generations.
Gum health ? Do you tend to suffer from gingivitis or gum disease? While chronic periodontitis can cause the gums to recede, earlier forms of gum infections may make tissues puffier and swollen, covering more of the tooth.
Pregnancy ? For some women, changes in hormones during pregnancy (or certain times of the month) can cause what we call ?granulomas? or tumor-like growths (don?t worry, they?re not malignant!)
Developmental— It’s possible that you can suffer from a condition where your teeth completed eruption, however your gum tissue failed migrate to the correct position. ?This condition is known as altered passive eruption.
Types of Treatment for Excessive Gum Tissues
In years past, conventional gummy smile treatment meant surgically reshaping and removing the excessive tissues, and bone structure, ?to recreate a new gumline contour against the teeth. This was often an uncomfortable procedure that required longer time to heal, because of how sensitive the gums tend to be.
Fortunately, our Newport Beach practice offers minimally-invasive soft tissue laser therapy for gum recontouring and other cosmetic dental procedures. With dental lasers, Dr. Yazdan can provide extremely accurate and predictable aesthetic results with the minimum amount of discomfort possible.
Crown Lengthening for Restorative Purposes
Sometimes it?s necessary to expose more tooth structure because there isn?t enough to support a crown. By recontouring your gumline, Dr. Yazdan can expose more tooth structure, thereby making a damaged or worn tooth stable enough to support a fixed porcelain crown, rather than extracting it.
If you?ve recovered from chronic periodontal disease, deep pockets around your teeth may be too challenging to clean with a toothbrush and floss. To prevent relapse, some teeth require crown lengthening to trim back the loose gum tissues, making oral hygiene easier to accommodate.
What to Expect During Laser Gum Recontouring
Laser recontouring allows us to completely reshape the natural contour of where your gums frame your teeth. When you schedule your procedure, we may not even need to use local anesthetic to numb your mouth! Depending on the extent of gum tissue that is to be addressed, it may take only a few minutes (most of our patients have their procedure completed within an hour.)
Comfortable nitrous oxide sedation is also available to help you relax!
?Is Gum Recontouring Painful?
?Laser gingival recontouring is the most comfortable option available to our cosmetic dental patients. Because the laser gently cauterizes the tissues as they are treated, there is no bleeding and very minimal (if any) swelling afterward. The recovery is significantly faster than the conventional gummy smile treatment. You?ll be back to your normal routine as soon as the procedure is over.
If any minor irritation develops, we recommend rinsing with warm salt water and taking an anti-inflammatory medication, such as Motrin (ibuprofen) to alleviate the discomfort. However, most of our patients do not require any type of post-operative pain relief.
Make Gum Recontouring Part of Your Smile Makeover
?If you?ve been considering how to enhance the appearance of your teeth, but a gummy smile is coming into play, Dr. Yazdan will likely recommend combining gum recontouring with one or two of our other aesthetic services to help you get the overall appearance you?re looking for.
We frequently combine laser gum recontouring with procedures such as:
- Invisalign
- Cosmetic veneers
- Porcelain crowns and bridges
- Teeth whitening
Depending on your needs and goals, we?ll discuss which order and length of time is best to complete such procedures to help you achieve the results you have in mind.
Say Goodbye to Gummy Smiles
When more of your teeth show, your smile appears healthier and brighter. You don?t have to live with a gummy smile, even if you?ve already talked yourself into thinking that it doesn?t matter. At The Center for Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry, our patients deserve the best. Sometimes all it takes to help your smile shine its brightest is to address the frame around it ? that is, your gums.
Schedule a gummy smile consultation at our office in Newport Beach today to learn more about our laser gum treatments.
To see more of our makeovers, make sure to follow Dr. Yazdan on Instagram!?
