Feeling self-conscious about your smile is one of the most depressing feelings you can have. A smile should be an unadulterated display of happiness.
Those who loathe the appearance of their smile, on the other hand, may try to suppress or hide it, even when they are overjoyed.
You may be unhappy with your smile for various reasons, many of which are linked to the appearance of your teeth. This could be because they are too small, chipped, crooked, yellowed, or have gaps between them.
Another typical issue happens outside of the mouth. If you think you reveal too much gum when you smile, you may be suffering from a condition known as a ‘gummy smile.’
This can happen for different reasons and be addressed in various ways, both temporarily and permanently. Learn more about this condition and your alternatives for getting the smile you’ve always wanted by reading on!
What Exactly Is a Gummy Smile?
When you grin, a gummy smile (Excessive Gingival Display) happens when more gum tissue is proportionately visible above the upper teeth.
A gummy smile can be detected visually, but it is also characterized as occurring when more than 4 millimeters of gum tissue is exposed.
If you suspect you have a gummy smile, make an appointment with your dentist, who can take x-rays and perform a few tests to discover the origin of your gummy smile before recommending the best treatment option.
What Causes a Gummy Smile?
A gummy smile can be caused by several factors, including:
Small teeth
Teeth that are too tiny may be due to genetics or usage. If teeth wear down over time, the upper teeth will try to maintain the proper bite by erupting further down, or the teeth may have erupted further down naturally for some people.
Another issue is when the upper teeth emerge further forward in respect to the lower teeth than they should. They move past each other instead of touching and erupt too far.
In each of these instances, as the teeth descend downward, the gums move downward as well, making the teeth appear shorter, and the gums appear longer.
Long gums
When the muscles around the lips are overly powerful, they pull the lips up and display more gum tissue than typical when smiling, resulting in a hypermobile or hyperactive lip.
The lip moves 6-8mm from its resting position to a complete smile position under normal circumstances, whereas hyperactive lips go much further.
Another problem with the lip is that it is excessively short, exposing too much gum even when the jaw and teeth are normal.
Longer jaw
The most common reason for a gummy grin is a larger upper jaw in relation to the size of the face and lip tissue available to cover the gums, resulting in an excessive quantity of gum tissue visible on both sides of the teeth.
What Are Some Gummy Smile Solutions?
After determining the reason for your gummy grin (which could be several), your dentist can recommend the best therapy to reduce the quantity of gum exposed when smiling.
The cost, intricacy, longevity of outcomes, and potential hazards of these solutions will vary.
Treatment options for a gummy grin include:
Lip augmentation
An oral or plastic surgeon can successfully cure a hyperactive or hypermobile lip by restricting the upper lip’s motion with permanent surgery.
Another surgical method can extend the lip if it is excessively short. Due to the movement of scar tissue and smiling, which might contradict the lengthening, it is more challenging than limiting the lip with surgery.
Braces
Braces can be used to press teeth back into their proper place in the gums if a gummy grin is caused by tooth issues such as those discussed above where teeth have erupted too far.
Once the teeth and gums have reached their ideal position, aesthetic dental treatments such as veneers or crowns can restore the tooth structure and ensure that the top and bottom teeth bite in the same way.
Gum lift
A gingivectomy may be the best treatment option if the reason for the gummy grin is enlarged gums. This is a periodontal surgery procedure sometimes known as a “gum lift.”
A gingivectomy can be done in the dental chair in as little as one session with your dentist or periodontist, and it may entail the use of a laser to restructure and remove extra gum tissue.
This can effectively decrease the height of the gums and can improve the appearance of your smile by creating more symmetry to the gum line and showing more of the tooth.
Jaw surgery
An oral or plastic surgeon can successfully cure a hyperactive or hypermobile lip by restricting the upper lip’s motion with permanent surgery.
Another surgical method can extend the lip if it is excessively short. Due to the movement of scar tissue and smiling, which might contradict the lengthening, it is more challenging than limiting the lip with surgery.
Muscle relaxant injections
When overactive muscles around the lips cause the problem, muscle relaxants (anti-wrinkle injections) are the simplest gummy grin treatment option.
They temporarily paralyze the muscle that lifts the lip too high when injected into the right place, with results lasting about six months.
Following aftercare recommendations may not be required depending on which operation you undergo to fix your gummy grin.
Following more extensive operations such as gum contouring or orthognathic surgery, you may need to follow a liquid diet for a few days, then transition to a soft food diet before gradually reintroducing solid foods as the healing process develops.
In most circumstances, you should be able to go back to school or work the next day. You will enjoy your bright, fresh, balanced smile for many years to come if you follow the aftercare guidelines and practice good oral hygiene. Contact Trust Dental Care Cancun for more information!
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