Why are Gum Contouring and Gum Reshaping Needed?
When a lot of gum is visible when smiling or there are uneven gum levels on the front teeth, this is known as a ‘gummy smile ” and is considered unattractive making the natural teeth look out of proportion and often appears to age the smile.
The gummiest of smiles can be transformed by gum sculpting, and can easily restore the natural tooth proportions and lift the gum to reduce or totally resolve the the “gummy smile” appearance, giving you the smile you have always dreamed of.
There are two forms of gum sculpting for a gummy smile, gum contouring and a gum lift.
Gum contouring is referred to when only up to 1mm of gum has to be removed to even out the gum levels or raise the gum. This is a very simple painless procedure and healing occurs over a few hours.
If more than 1 mm of gum needs to be removed to create your perfect smile, then the process is more involved requiring a gum lift.. This requires up to 4 months of healing time.
In both cases the procedure usually requires the placement of veneers after the gum has been reshaped otherwise the gum can grow back, or the veneers are required to improve tooth shape, especially if the gum has been lifted by more than 1 mm.
Look below at the following cases of gum reshaping.