Too much gum - NewSmile Dental Perth
Showing too much gum (gummy smile)
Gum recession - NewSmile Dental Perth
Showing not enough gum (gum recession)
Too much gum causes - NewSmile Dental Perth
Causes of a smile with too much gum
A short upper lip can distort the delicate balance between the display of teeth and gum. Treatment of an excessively gummy smile depends on the cause, which could be:
- Overgrown or excessive gums.
- A short upper lip which doesn’t cover the gingiva (gum) and the upper teeth.
- A hypermobile lip, when your lip moves excessively up, or up and back/sideways when you smile.
- “Growing out” of the upper front teeth, also called over-eruption, which often goes with an excessive overbite.
- Vertical maxillary excess or VME, where the facial skeleton grows too vertically (a tall upper jaw) with a large distance between the upper and lower lips, sometimes with a small lower jaw and a long and retruded chin.
All before & after images are examples of actual patients treated by dentists at our practice. Results are indicative only and may vary.
Gummy smile treatment
Gingivectomy or Gumlift is usually suitable for cases where teeth are short in appearance. This type of gum reduction or periodontal surgery lifts the gumline up, making the teeth taller and the gum shorter. Our dentists will make delayed measurements, assessments and photographic or 3D-modeling, to design and demonstrate your results before surgery.
Where dental crowding, or cosmetic problems with the teeth are also present, our cosmetic dentists can follow up gum surgery with porcelain crowns or veneers, designed for your particular case and cosmetic objectives.
A gumlift is often a very simple procedure, performed by excision or electrocautery, under local anaesthetic.
Too much gum solutions - NewSmile Dental Perth
If I show too much gum, what can be done?
At NewSmile Dental Centre in Subiaco (Perth), we offer a range of treatments for gummy smile, including:
- Gum reduction, a minor periodontal surgery to lift the gumline up (also called a Gumlift or Gingivectomy).
- Crown lengthening surgery to raise the gumline and the underlying bone attachment.
- Lip repositioning surgery to stop the lips from exposing too much gum during smiling.
- Muscle relaxing injections, a quick temporary solution to reduce the action of the upper lip’s lifting muscles.
- Orthodontic treatment to non-invasively and slowly reposition the teeth and gummy smiles using braces, correcting any other jaw and tooth alignment issues at the same time; in very complex cases this may involve referral out to a maxillofacial surgeon for orthognathic jaw repositioning surgery.
- Bone reduction (alveoletomy) surgery for people who also have extensive dental infections and require tooth removal and replacement in a new position.
Gum recession solutions - NewSmile Dental Perth
Gum recession solutions - NewSmile Dental Perth
NewSmile Perth has dentists experienced in cosmetic and reconstructive gum (periodontal) surgery, or gum grafting. Once we have established your gum health, we can often perform minimally invasive gum regeneration procedures that can create the right balance between your teeth and gums, and cover back up the exposed root surfaces, eliminating unsightly long teeth and tooth sensitivity.
Too much gum diagnosis - NewSmile Dental Perth
Get a clear diagnosis
To define the most suitable treatment options for your personal gum situation, it’s important to first get a clear and accurate diagnosis by our dentists. Book your appointment today with our team of friendly and experienced cosmetic dentists and dental hygienists in Subiaco, Perth.
Before & after too much gum Perth
Before & afters
For any surgical based procedure, please refer to our disclaimer.