Have you always shied away from smiling broadly because of excessive exposure of gums? 

Well, we have a solution for you.

While a maximum of 2-3mm of gums are normally visible in the smile, anything more than that is considered a “gummy smile”. It is usually seen in females and prevails in generations.


WHY DO I HAVE A GUMMY SMILE?

There are multiple reasons why a person can have a gummy smile. It can be due to any one of the following reasons :-

  1. Size of the teeth :- The size of the teeth can be a very important factor if there is excessive gums showing in your smile. Often, smaller size of the teeth will result in larger exposure of gums. The teeth can be small in size either because they have not completely erupted or has been covered by gums partially or due to genetic reasons. Teeth size are also proportional to the size of the body. It is generally common to see small teeth in a short and small person whereas long teeth are more frequent in taller individuals
  2. Short upper lip:- The average length of upper lips is 20-24 mm and it moves a little upwards when the patient smiles. The average range of movement is between 6 to 8mm. However, a gummy smile can result when the patient is either having a short upper lip or if the upper lip is hypermobile and moves excessively during smile.
  3. Long face:- When a person has an elongated face, the upper jaw is usually the one which is more in height. Due to excessive growth of the maxilla (upper jaw), the gums tend to elongate as well and they bulge out. As a result, when the patient smiles, more gums are visible. These patients also have problems in closing their lips completely (Incompetent lips).
  4. Mouth breathing:- Normally, a person breathes through his nose. However, due to various reasons like enlarged tonsils or nasal obstruction, he/she resorts to mouth breathing. In these patients, upper and lower lips fail to meet at rest. This can also result in a gummy smile.
  5. Gums hypertrophy:- Gum enlargement can be due to various reasons like hormonal changes during pregnancy and menstruation or certain medications like phenytoin, cyclosporine and nifedipine. Certain tumors of the bone or gums can also lead to bulging gums.

WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS OPTIONS TO CORRECT A GUMMY SMILE?

While it is important to understand the underlying reason behind the gummy smile, there are various surgical and non-surgical options available for the correction of gummy smile.

1. Orthodontic treatment :- This option can help if the gummy smile is caused by an improper bite or vertical maxillary excess. However, it is up to your dentist, especially an orthodontist to decide whether this modality will correct your smile.

2. Veneers or crowns :- This treatment option is valid only when your dentist has thoroughly checked and ruled out any other pathology related to your teeth and gums, except for the issue of size. By use of veneers or crowns, your teeth will be made to look longer and proportionate to the size of your gums.

3. Crown-lengthening or gingevectomy:- It is a minimally invasive surgical approach to correct your gummy smile. Unlike veneers or crowns, wherein your teeth are made to appear longer, in crown-lengthening procedures, some of the gum tissue is removed and your gum line is reshaped. Hence, exposing more tooth structure. 

This procedure can be done either using traditional surgical scalpels or lasers. Dr. Rajat Sachdeva has years of clinical and surgical experience in procedures like these using lasers. State of the art equipment with laser technology has given our clinic 100% success rate in such cases.

4. Lip repositioning or Botox surgery:- If your gummy smile is because of a hyperactive upper lip, then few minimally invasive surgical options like lip repositioning or Botox surgery can help correct your smile. 

Lip repositioning or reverse vestibuloplasty is a method by which your lip is pulled down so as to cover the exposed gums. This will make your smile look more proportionate and you can get a perfect visibility of teeth and gums.

Botox surgery of lips is similar as any other part of the face. Botox injections use a toxin called OnabotulinumtoxinA to temporarily prevent a muscle from moving. This toxin is produced by the microbe that causes botulism, a type of food poisoning. It is usually injected by a health professional using fine needles in the muscles of the target area. Its effects are similar to lip repositioning surgery, however it is not a permanent solution and you need to get these injections again in 3-6 months.

5. Treatment of systemic causes:- As mentioned above, if the cause of gummy smile is due to any medications or jaw tumors, it will be identified by your dentist through a series of scans and detailed case history and then treated accordingly.

SHOULD I BE CONCERNED ABOUT MY GUMMY SMILE AT ALL?

Gummy smile has no major health concerns unless it is due to any underlying tumors or medications. So, it is mostly a cosmetic issue and sometimes can lower a person’s self-esteem or his/her wish to smile broadly. According to our chief dental surgeon Dr. Rajat Sachdeva, you can correct your gummy smiles easily to improve your cosmetic value and give an esthetically pleasing smile.

WHY CHOOSE US?

Dr. Rajat Sachdeva has been practicing in Ashok Vihar for over 20 years now and is well-known or his cosmetic dental procedures. Treatment of gummy smile is essentially a cosmetic procedure and requires great surgical acumen along with standard quality equipment. Improving a person’s smile is a great responsibility as it is usually associated with a person’s self-confidence and social life. 

We understand and appreciate when a patient trusts us with their smile and looks, and hence we take great care to execute such treatments. We are proud to say that we have achieved 100% success rate with almost all our cases. We have an excellent follow-up team wherein we maintain detailed records of our patients and reach out to them regularly even after the treatment is over.

We are a 24*7 team who works round the clock to provide services to our patients.

If you are interested in changing your smile, do come for a consultation today!!