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Gummy Smiles
NEW YORK, N.Y. — When a person’s smile reveals an abundance of pink gum as well as an overly toothy grin, it has often been cruelly dubbed a "horse smile." "From an aesthetic standpoint, showing more tooth and fewer gums is desirable, especially on the upper teeth," says Dr. Clifford Williams one of New York’s leading cosmetic dentists. "The way to correct this is to lengthen the teeth and trim away the gums, which is also known as a "gum lift."
A gummy smile is most often caused by something called passive eruption, which is when the adult teeth grow into the mouth but the gums do not recede far enough, stopping just short of exposing the whole tooth. In this case, there is more tooth than is shown but the gum is covering a portion of it. "With those patients, it is a very simple procedure that involves some gum trimming," says Dr. Williams. "This could make a substantial difference since there are often several millimeters of tooth that remains unexposed." Another treatment for the gummy smile is crown lengthening, which involves bone reshaping in addition to gum trimming. "There needs to be a certain distance between the margin of the gum and the crest of the bone. If, in some situations, a dentist were just to trim the gum and invade the width, the body would simply re-grow the gum."
Some people with a gummy smile are quite self-conscious and have restrained smiles that are not big and natural. "The proper treatment can make a dramatic difference," says Dr. Williams. "Patients have told me that even before the final stages are completed, they are talking and smiling more than before." Models, newscasters, business people and anyone who wants to make a great first impression can benefit from the proper gum treatments. "Treating someone’s smile, especially removing a gummy smile, can really build up a person’s self-confidence and how they project themselves. They become infinitely more comfortable with their self-image."
However, Dr. Williams does not recommend gum trimming or crown lengthening to anyone before the age of sixteen. "As children grow, their jaw bones are also growing," he says. "A dentist would not want to perform the treatments on patients who are not dentally mature because they are still going through some changes." Although most people have this procedure done when they are in their late teens, 20s or 30s, the average age may be rising. As more adults are undergoing cosmetic dental procedures such as braces, they are also visiting the periodontist and requesting the removal of their gummy smiles.
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