Blog Post

How to fix a gummy smile

Are you tired of feeling self-conscious about the visibility of your gums when you smile? Have you grown weary of trying to achieve the perfect pout? Do you yearn for the ability to smile openly and confidently, without the burden of worrying how you look? If you are living with a gummy smile, you may relate to these questions.

There’s enormous pressure to conform to society’s standard of beauty. The world we live in is increasingly focused on looks, whereas once upon a time photos were only ever taken on high days and holidays, having your photo taken is now, for some people, a daily standard. With this extra awareness of the aesthetic, people have become self-conscious about their looks and actively look for remedies to improve how they look. After all, good dental and oral health are synonymous with attractiveness, youthfulness and vitality.

Or is it that it is only now that people have access to affordable cosmetic dentistry services and can have a perfect smile?

A gummy smile, or excessive gingival display, is when too much gum tissue shows above the top teeth. It tends to be regarded as more of a personal perception issue rather than a dental health concern to the extent that across the globe there are variations as to what is considered a gummy smile. The scale of classification varies between the European 4mm of exposed gingival tissues to the unforgiving 2mm of the USA.

What’s the best solution for a gummy smile?

Proportion and positioning are key components of the perfect smile, so if one piece of the smile puzzle is even slightly ‘off’, the aesthetic of the smile is compromised. The best solution for a gummy smile depends on the reason it occurs:

· Teeth appear short because they erupted improperly or remain covered by gum tissue.

· Teeth appear short due to genetics or wear and tear.

· The upper lip is too short.

· Hyperactive upper lip muscles which cause the lip to rise higher than normal when smiling.

· Long or enlarged gums (gingival hypertrophy).

· Overgrowth of the upper jaw (vertical maxillary excess).

Other than genetics, all the causes relate to teeth, lips, jaws or gums; the relationship between them is vital to achieving the perfect smile. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, rather it needs to be tailored dental treatment to the patient’s unique needs. Here are some of the highly effective gummy smile treatments available in Duxton Dental clinics in Christchurch:

· Orthodontic braces to move the bite into the correct position.

· Veneers or crowns to make the teeth improve the tooth-to-gum ratio.

· A gingivectomy to remove and reshape the gums.

· Crown-lengthening dental treatment for teeth that did not erupt properly.

· Laser gum contouring procedures.

· Dysport Botox treatment to relax the hyperactive lip muscles.

As specialists in the oral and maxillofacial areas (the face from chin to forehead), helping our patients achieve their best smile and improve their oral health for the long term is always our goal. We are privileged to have in-house access to the latest innovative dental technology which allows us to determine the correct treatment for gummy smiles and deliver exceptional results. If you are sat on the fence about whether dental treatment could improve your smile, book an appointment at Duxton Dental, your local Riccarton Christchurch dentist. Call 03 348 5488.

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