Gummy Smile Correction | Lincoln, NE
Helping Your Smile Stand Out
When you pull back your lips to give the world a smile, all eyes should be on your beautiful teeth. However, some people have just a little too much gum tissue in their mouths, and this can end up drawing attention for the wrong reasons. An uneven gum line can make your teeth look like they’re different sizes, resulting in a less symmetrical – and therefore less attractive – smile. If you find yourself hesitating to smile because you’re embarrassed by your gums, get in touch with Dr. Olberding as soon as possible; he can remove the unnecessary tissue to restore the balance to your grin – along with your confidence.
What Causes a Gummy Smile?
You are said to have a gummy smile if you show the gums above your teeth whenever you smile. This condition is said to affect about one-third of the population. It can happen for a number of reasons, with the most common causes including:
- Your teeth erupting in an unusual way that leaves them partially covered by the gum tissue.
- Your teeth genuinely being small compared to the gums as a result of excessive wear or a genetic trait.
- An unusually short upper lip that exposes more of the mouth than usual.
- A normal-sized lip that tends to lift too high whenever you smile.
- Gingival hypertrophy, or abnormally enlarged gum tissue.
- Vertical maxillary excess, which refers to the upper jaw becoming overgrown and making the gums bulge out.
As you might have noticed, all of these causes are linked to the teeth, lips, jaws, or gums in some way. In most cases, it’s a genetic issue, meaning you don’t have any way to prevent it from happening. Fortunately, thanks to Dr. Olberding’s expertise, you don’t necessarily have to live with it for the rest of your life; with the right treatment, he can correct your smile so that the teeth and gums are proportional to each other.
How Can a Gummy Smile Be Treated?
There can be a few different solutions for a gummy smile depending on the root cause. One of the most common treatments is a gum lift. This simply involves removing unneeded gum tissue away with a scalpel. Depending on where the excessive tissue is located, this could mean exposing more of the enamel so that your teeth appear to be the proper size, or it could involve correcting the gum line so that it appears even all the way around your mouth.
Preparing for a Gum Lift
Before scheduling the gum lift, we’ll need to closely examine your mouth to make sure that you’re a viable candidate for the treatment. In addition to determining the nature of your gummy smile, we’ll have to evaluate the health of your teeth, mouth and jaw. In particular, we’ll look for infections or lesions that might complicate your ability to recover from the procedure afterwards. We’ll discuss the situation with you before moving on with the procedure.