Many people are happy with their teeth, but unhappy with their smile. If your gums rest in a position that is too high or too low in comparison to your teeth this can be bothersome and unsightly. If this is something that causes you concern you might be an ideal candidate for a cosmetic gum sculpting treatment.
If your concern is that your teeth look too short, i.e., you have a ‘Gummy Smile,’ they might actually be the right length, but covered by too much gum tissue. Gums which cover large areas of your teeth can make your teeth look small and are usually a result of genetics, health problems or taking certain prescription medications. At Belmore Dental we can reposition the gum, usually in just one visit! Leaving you with a beautiful smile, normal contours and the lengths of the teeth and gums in perfect harmony.
If you feel that the opposite is the problem, your gums appear to be too high and your teeth look too long, this is often caused by gum recession, a condition in which the gum tissue pulls back from the tooth and exposes the root.
Recession doesn’t just make the teeth look long, if left untreated, it can lead to serious dental problems such as decay and tooth loss. Exposed roots can be very distressing, not only because of their unsightly appearance but also because they can cause extreme sensitivity to hot and cold and even to certain foods. Receding gums tend to happen very slowly and are virtually impossible to detect in typical day to day observations, usually by the time a patient realises their gums have receded, it is too late. This is why it is essential to attend for regular dental check-ups and hygiene visits so that our dental team are able to continuously monitor your mouth and ensure any problems are picked up and dealt with before they go too far.
Thankfully, we are able to treat gum recession! At Belmore Dental we carry out gum grafting procedures to rebuild the lost gum tissue, taking a small graft from elsewhere in the mouth or by using a regenerative tissue matrix and transplanting this onto the affected sites. Gum grafting is a very common procedure that is intended to recreate your gum line and prevent further deterioration of the gums, while enhancing the appearance of your smile. This treatment requires nothing more than a simple local anaesthetic and the results look amazing after a short healing period.
Prior to your procedure, your dentist will go over any pre-operative instructions you should follow, as well as any specifics about the surgical process. The following general steps may be included:
Thick gum tissue is an essential part of maintaining a healthy gum line and mouth, it makes your gums more resistant to recession over time, and it is more comfortable when brushing. Having thick gums also helps to stop or at least reduce tooth sensitivity and protects against tooth decay. Additionally, thick gum tissue is important for achieving aesthetic results when placing implants, this helps to ensure that the metal portion of the implant does not show through, creating a darker appearance in the implant area
There are several ways you can help maintain your gum line and the over all health of your gums.
Gum contouring or gum reshaping, is a cosmetic procedure used to improve the aesthetics of the smile, mainly being used in cases where the patient has a ‘gummy smile.’ Unfortunately, gummy smiles can cause a person’s self-esteem to plummet and can make the process of smiling an unappealing one. This is a condition which mainly affects the front teeth but can also shape other teeth which are out of sight. Thankfully having a gummy smile Is not so much a medical dilemma, but is more of an aesthetic concern, it can however, have a negative effect on an individual’s self-confidence, affecting their mental welfare, which is why gum contouring is such an important treatment.
Gum contouring is a procedure which is most commonly done through the use of a scalpel, this will be used to trim away and reshape excessive gum tissue overlying the teeth. This is a quick and painless treatment which can produce beautiful results to remedy a gummy smile.
This is a treatment that can work really well to improve your smile and self-confidence. As with all procedures that involve cutting into tissue and possibly bone there are certain risks involved, your dentist will discuss this in detail before any treatment is carried out.
