Hi, my name is Dr. Abalos, and I am coming from Sunbrite Dental. Today, I want to discuss the topic of gummy smiles.
What is a gummy smile, and what causes it?
Plain and simple, a gummy smile is when an individual smiles, and the lip is so high that you can see a lot of gum above the tooth or teeth. Here, I'll take my model. The lips usually cover the tops of the teeth where the teeth end. With a gummy smile, you can see where the gum and teeth meet, and then a lot of gum above it because the lip is up here, where my fingers are. Now, what causes it? It's just how we're born. Just like I have dark hair, that's just where our lips, teeth, and gums were set to be.
At what point is a smile considered too gummy?
The next question I usually get is at what point is a smile considered too gummy, and honestly that is a personal preference and what is trending in beauty. Currently, fuller lips are considered beautiful. When one has fuller lips, you're less likely to see where the teeth and gums meet. I have patients here who don't have gummy smiles, but they don't like seeing the tops of their teeth. We can fix that. Then I have patients who really do have gummy smiles where you see a lot of gums. Just because you're born with a gummy smile doesn't mean you have to live with it. We're able to correct that, improve the aesthetics and how you view yourself, and make you feel better and more confident about your smile.
Does a gummy smile affect dental health or just appearance?
For the most part, it's just for appearance. I have plenty of patients who love their gummy smiles, and we make sure their gums are nice and healthy along with their teeth, and they're okay with it and love their smile. That's no problem for me as their dentist. Then I have other patients who particularly do not like their gummy smile and have asked if there's anything we can do about it, and the answer is definitely yes. We can do something about it. We've been able to improve their smile, and I see them smiling a lot more.
What are the most common treatment options for fixing a gummy smile?
It can go from as easy as just slicing away a small piece of your gum so that more of your teeth show. That's what we call a gingivectomy. Now if the bone—I'll show you my skull, which I lovingly call Harvey. Here you see where the jawbone and teeth meet. Sometimes the patient's jawbone is covering part of the tooth. It's not just the gums over the jawbone. Then we have to laser the gums and reduce the bone so that more of the teeth can show once the gums heal up. The other option would be veneers. Depending on what's going on with your gummy smile, I will be happy to tell you what needs to occur to get you the smile you'd like.
Can surgery be used to correct the gummy smile?
The answer is yes. Dental surgery can be used. Depending on what's causing the gummy smile, it could just be the gums growing over part of your teeth. If that's the case, it's very simple. We just laser the gums away. It's like pushing back your cuticle so that more of your nail can be shown. That's the best analogy I can come up with for a gingivectomy. If now your bone is covered with your gums, then we have to do surgery where we flap the gums and, based on our measurements, reduce the bone to correct the gummy smile. We've been able to achieve really good results depending on the case or what the patient has going on. If you're interested in checking out some of our results, we have before-and-after photos on our website.
How effective are the different treatments for a gummy smile?
The treatments I have gone over, which include a gingivectomy, bone reduction with gingivectomy, veneers, or a combination of any of those three, are very effective and are pretty permanent. Once we're done correcting your gummy smile, from that point on, you've got the smile of your dreams.
Are there any side effects or risks to treating a gummy smile?
The answer is very little. We make sure when we're about to correct a gummy smile, it's like that saying, "measure twice, cut once." We take a lot of photos of our patients from different angles of their faces. We take molds so that we can create study models. That's where we do our measurements to ensure that wherever the gums need to end up to correct the look of a gummy smile is where it's going to be. No one likes surprises in a dental office. I certainly do not. I want to make sure that once our patient sees their smile after going through their treatment, I see more tears of joy instead of tears of regret.
Is it common for someone's smile to become more gummy as they age?
The answer is not likely. If anything, it would be the opposite because as we age, there's more wear and tear. Teeth tend to wear down, and in middle age, the disease that we're more stricken with would be gum disease, which would cause the recession of gums. But that's not a healthy recession. I wouldn't advocate someone with a gummy smile to hope for gum disease because that's fixing one problem with another problem. If you truly want to fix your gummy smile and are tired of it, let us help you fix it in a healthy way that can last and is very controlled. We can get you the true results that you are actually seeking.
What is the difference between temporary and permanent gummy smile correction options?
Quite simply, the answer is no. It's an all-the-way-go or a no-go. There's no temporary option. If you are debating whether you'd like to fix your gummy smile, my best advice is for you to come in. We can take a look at your smile together, and I can answer questions pertaining to your smile specifically. That way, you can get all the information you need to make the best decision for yourself.
Can you share what a patient can expect from a gummy smile treatment before and after?
When we're looking at your gummy smile, what you can expect is your initial consultation will be with me or one of our other doctors. You can tell us exactly what is not making you happy about your smile. It can be as simply put as, "I feel like I show too many gums when I smile." I've had another patient tell me, and these are her exact words, "I just feel like I have little girl teeth, and I'm a grown-ass woman, and it doesn't match." Whatever it is that you have your attention on, just communicate it to us. From there, we know the different components that will get you to the smile you want. If not, then we start asking you questions to really get the information on what's bothering you about your smile. Once we determine what factors are bothering you about your smile or what you'd like to improve, we take a photo. That way, you can get a preview or a smile simulation to see for yourself before even committing if the proposed look we're going for is the end result you would actually like. The smile simulation can do anything from changing the color of your teeth to changing the size and shape of your teeth. You can get a really good idea of what the end result will look like before committing to the treatment of correcting your gummy smile.
I hope this was able to help you if you have questions regarding a gummy smile. If not, I would be more than happy to sit down with you and answer any more questions that you may have regarding a gummy smile. You can reach me at (702) 819-0866 with a phone call or text, or if you're more of the email type, email me at [email protected]. I hope to talk to you soon. Thank you.