If you feel as if you are showing too much of your gums when you smile, you could be right. Gummy smiles happen when too much gum tissue covers your teeth. Some people also have teeth that are a bit shorter than normal. Both of those issues tend to be inherited. Read on and find out what can be done to make your gums less visible.
Lengthen Your Crown
The crown is the visible part of your teeth. This word is often used to describe a covering, like a cap, for natural but damaged teeth too. Crown lengthening does not involve the use of false teeth, though. A bit of minor surgery is used to remove some of the gum tissue that is covering the part of your tooth that rests under your gums. The procedure may also be known as a gum lift.
What Happens With a Gum Lift
In most cases, a gum lift takes only a single visit to be done. Your dentist will be removing tissue so you will be anesthetized. In most cases, though, you will be perfectly comfortable with a local numbing injection like you would have with a tooth-filling procedure. If you require extensive work or are nervous about dental procedures, discuss other anesthesia and calming options with your dentist.
Your dentist will gently remove some of the gum tissue that covers your tooth. Just enough is removed so that your teeth are more attractive, and your gums are not damaged. Once the procedure is complete, your dentist will place small sutures (stitches) if necessary, in your gums.
After the Gum Lift
It's normal to experience some swelling of the gums but that should reduce in a few days. Once the swelling goes down, the full impact of the procedure will become apparent. Follow the aftercare instructions from your dentist about drinking, eating, and getting back to your usual exercise and work routines. It's not unusual to experience some temporary sensitivity to extreme temperatures in the gum areas for the time being.
You may need to be extra careful when brushing and flossing but don't neglect your dental hygiene. You don't want to help a gum infection get a head start by not cleaning your teeth and mouth well. If you had sutures, they would need to be removed in a week or so and your dentist can check to make sure that everything is as expected with your gums and teeth.
For more info, contact a company like Total Dentistry.
Share29 December 2022
When the bottled water craze began, I jumped on the bandwagon with everyone else who was drinking water from bottles instead of from the tap. I wasn't sure why bottled water was healthier, but I liked the taste. When I went for my next dental check-up, I had my first cavity in a while, so I had it filled and didn't think much of it. Well, I had two more during my next check-up after that, and I began trying to think of why my teeth were suddenly going bad. The only change in my habits was the switch to bottled water, so I made the switch back to tap water and my teeth began to improve. I created this blog to encourage others who have begun getting cavities suddenly to look into their changes in habits. They may find they made a change similar to mine.