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Gummy Smile (Excessive Gingival Display)
A gummy smile can occur due to a number of reasons: a short upper lip, excessive wear of the teeth due to grinding, vertical maxillary excess (a long upper jawbone), and/or altered passive eruption.
Regardless of the cause, you do not have to live with a gummy smile. Let us work together with your dentist to determine the underlying cause and the proper treatment plan.
Gingival Recession
When the gums recede, the teeth appear much "longer" than normal. Besides the fact that this does not look good, recession exposes the sensitive root surface which can make it difficult to enjoy hot or cold foods and drinks. Also, the exposed root surface is much more susceptible to plaque accumulation and root caries. In advanced cases, teeth can become loose because as the gum recedes, so does the supporting bone.
In many cases, this situation can be corrected by transplanting a small piece of gum tissue to cover the exposed root and thereby correct the appearance of "long" teeth.
SO WHAT EXACTLY IS A GUM SURGERY?
Unlike gum contouring, gum surgery involves replacing missing gum tissue with tissue from another part of the mouth. A gum specialist known as a periodontist usually performs the procedure. The area of recession is anesthetized with local anesthesia and prepared for receiving the graft. For larger treatment areas, general anesthesia or local anesthesia with sedation may be preferred.
Gum contouring: Gum contouring can be as simple as removing some of the gum tissue to eliminate a "gummy" smile or more complicated, involving removal of both bone and gum tissue. If just a small amount of tissue needs to be removed, a diode laser can be used to remove tissue with anesthesia.This can usually be accomplished is 15 to 30 minutes.
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