Gum Contouring (Recontouring)

How to Improve Your Smile with Gum Recontouring

While gum treatments are commonly carried out to address problems caused by periodontal disease or advanced gum disease, they can be very successful as a cosmetic dental treatment, especially when it comes to gum recontouring.

Ideally, you should expose very little gum tissue when you smile or talk. Any gum shown should frame your teeth nicely, but this isn’t always the case. When they smile, some people expose a lot of gum tissue, which can detract from their appearance. The problem can be down to the size and shape of the lips and how they move, or it may be due to the facial muscles. It can be because of how the gums have developed and the overall size and shape of teeth. It is a problem called a gummy smile.

When someone has a gummy smile, it may appear as if their teeth are too short, but this may not be the problem as they could be covered up by too much gum tissue. It is an issue that tends to affect the front teeth, and sometimes only one or two teeth may be affected.

What to Do If You Have a Gummy Smile?

If you are concerned your smile looks rather gummy, make an appointment to see a periodontist. It’s best to see a periodontist because they are a dental specialist in treating gum problems. When you see your periodontist, they can assess your teeth and gums and determine why you have this issue. Sometimes it can be due to overactive muscles in your upper lip, so when you smile, your upper lip rises up too far. Other times it could be due to the way your upper jaw has developed and where there is an excess of jawbone. However, treating a gummy smile can be very straightforward if it is due to excess gum tissue, using gum recontouring.

What Is Gum Contouring (Recontouring)?

Gum contouring procedure, also known as gum recontouring is a process to remove excess gum tissue, and these days it’s generally carried out using a dental laser. A laser is used because the laser beam is very precise, and laser dentistry is much more comfortable than using a scalpel to cut away the excess tissue. Before treatment begins, your periodontist will determine how much gum should be removed, and most will take a less is more approach. It’s much easier to touch up the results afterward than to deal with the consequences of removing too much tissue.

What to Expect If You Have Gum Recontouring?

The process of gum recontouring should be very comfortable and quite quick. Your periodontist may apply a local anesthetic to your gums to ensure the area is numb, but one advantage of using laser dentistry is that it is almost pain-free, especially if you only need a small amount of gum tissue removed.

Once your mouth is prepared, your periodontist carefully removes the excess tissue. In the past, when a scalpel was used to remove this tissue, it was necessary to place stitches afterward. However, with laser dentistry, the energy of the laser beam creates an effect called thermal coagulation, meaning any small blood vessels cut during treatment are automatically sealed. As a result, there is little or no bleeding during treatment and very little downtime.

If your jaw is a little too large, your periodontist may take this chance to reshape it, as the more sophisticated dental lasers can treat hard and soft tissues meaning they can reshape bone or teeth. Sometimes a gummy smile is corrected by another treatment called crown lengthening.

What Is Crown Lengthening?

Removing excess gum tissue helps expose more of the natural tooth underneath; sometimes, this might be all the treatment needed. However, crown lengthening exposes more of the natural tooth structure and prepares the tooth for a dental crown or veneer. Exposing more of the tooth helps ensure the crown or veneer placement is more successful and that the restorations can be designed to provide maximum aesthetic benefits, creating a more beautiful smile. Crown lengthening is also used if you are unlucky to break off a tooth right near the gum line. When only a tiny part of a tooth is visible, it can be very difficult or near impossible to fit a crown successfully. Exposing more of the tooth will provide greater retention for the restoration, so your dentist can make and fit a crown successfully. If you have a crown lengthening procedure, it may be possible to fit a new crown or veneer soon afterward.

What to Expect During Recovery?

Once your treatment is complete, your periodontist will give you full instructions on caring for your mouth as your gums heal. Because you received laser dentistry, any side effects like swelling should be minimal, and sealing the blood vessels as they are cut helps reduce the risk of infection. However, it is important to follow your periodontist’s instructions on keeping your mouth clean, and you can certainly continue to brush teeth that weren’t treated carefully. You will probably need to change your diet for the first few days as your gums heal. It’s important to avoid any seeds or nuts, or popcorn, as the small pieces could become stuck in your gums and may irritate them. It’s also better to avoid any very spicy or hot foods, instead sticking to foods that are cool and soothing, such as yogurt and ice cream, and to smooth the foods like scrambled eggs and mashed potato as well as pasta.

What If My Gummy Smile is Due to an Overactive Lip Muscle?

Gum recontouring is great if your gummy smile is down to excess gum, but if you have an overactive lip muscle, you might need another treatment. One option is to have the lip muscle surgically released or consider Botox injections. An experienced dentist can administer a small amount of Botox to relax the overactive muscle causing this problem, releasing the upper lip, so it doesn’t move so far upward when you smile, ensuring you show the right amount of gum tissue.