Your gums serve to protect tooth roots and provide support for your teeth. But the gums also frame the teeth and have a significant impact on smile aesthetics. A number of Virginia residents are bothered by the appearance of a “gummy smile.” A gummy smile occurs when excess gum tissue covers a greater surface area of the tooth structure. It features a more prominent display of gum tissue in the smile zone, and gives the appearance of shorter teeth. Diplomates of the American Board of Periodontology, Drs. Gouldin, Carlos and Gohel want our patients to love their smiles and offer minimally invasive soft tissue recontouring to eliminate the appearance of a gummy smile. Esthetic crown lengthening is minimally invasive and provides immediate cosmetic and oral health results. A similar procedure known as Functional Crown Lengthening allows space for your family dentist to successfully restore your tooth with a filling or crown when there is a deficiency of tooth structure above gum to work with.
Gummy Smile Improvement
Gummy smile treatment is a routine periodontal plastic surgery procedure performed by our experienced periodontists. With extreme skill and precision technique, we remove excess gum tissue from around the teeth, lengthening the clinical appearance of teeth by exposing more enamel tooth structure. Our doctors artfully sculpt the gum line to frame the teeth in a proportional manner, creating an even, attractive smile. In some cases, we may need to slightly reduce the underlying bone to achieve desired results. Gummy smile treatment not only dramatically enhances the look of your smile – it also minimizes your risk of gum infection by eliminating places for disease-causing bacteria to hide. For most patients, gummy smile treatment is completed in one visit and involves minimal downtime with little-to-no discomfort.
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