When it comes to self-confidence and appearance, few things are more important than your smile. A clean, bright, healthy smile is a great investment with personal and professional benefits.
Good oral hygiene is the key to a great smile, but sometimes it’s not enough. There are times when cosmetic dental procedures might be necessary to improve the appearance of your smile. Crown lengthening is a common cosmetic dental procedure that can really help your teeth shine — especially for patients who suffer from excessive gingival display or a “gummy smile”. Read on to learn more about how a crown lengthening procedure can boost the quality of your smile.
What Happens During A Crown Lengthening Procedure?
The goal of a cosmetic crown lengthening procedure is to expose more of a tooth by reducing or removing gum tissue or bone. By recontouring gum or bone, we can reveal more of the tooth’s surface, which can help increase the visibility of your smile.
Your periodontist will conduct an initial consultation to determine if you’re eligible for the procedure. They may also perform imaging tests, such as x-rays or scans to get a better look at the structure of your teeth and jaw. Then, they’ll review their findings and present a recommendation as to whether crown lengthening is an option and schedule a follow-up appointment.
On the day of your appointment, your periodontist will carefully remove excess gum tissue or bone around the teeth while carefully reshaping the gum line. A small amount of bone is also removed, which creates a new place for the gumline to settle and prevents regeneration. You can expect the appointment to last an hour or so.
While you may experience mild discomfort afterward, you should expect to feel comfortable during the procedure. Local anesthetics and sedation dentistry options can be used to keep patients comfortable and minimize pain.
Following crown lengthening, you’ll likely experience some mild swelling and you may have to stick to soft foods for a few days until your gums have fully healed.
3 Benefits Of Crown Lengthening
Whether you have a gummy smile or an oral health challenge, crown lengthening is helpful from both a cosmetic and functional perspective. Here are three of the most common reasons why patients opt for this service:
1. Improved Smiles & Better Confidence
Sometimes patients with a “gummy smile” actively try to suppress their smile due to feelings of self-consciousness. This can have serious impacts on your personal and professional relationships. Your smile is your trademark feature, and it’s an important way to communicate. Smiling helps us to build trust and create a friendly, reliable appearance.
Smiling is also important for your overall health. It boosts levels of serotonin and dopamine in your brain, which helps you to feel calm, relaxed, and happy. Therefore, actively suppressing your smile can actually make you feel more anxious and depressed.
The goal of crown lengthening is to move back the gums so your teeth look longer, which makes your smile appear bigger and brighter. This can go a long way toward restoring your confidence and helping you to feel like yourself. If you love your smile, you’ll be more likely to use it.
2. Better Oral Hygiene
Our gums serve as a critical foundation for our teeth, but they can also accumulate pockets of plaque and harmful bacteria that can lead to severe gum disease, tooth loss, and other problems. By removing the gum line, you can eliminate areas of gum tissue where pockets of bacteria are more likely to form. This can help you maintain better oral health and stave off harmful problems like gum disease.
3. To Prepare For Another Dental Procedure
You might need crown lengthening to prepare for another dental procedure. For example, if you need a crown or other form of restoration, crown lengthening might be necessary to ensure there is enough tooth available to bond. In some cases, gum tissue may need to be removed prior to an extraction or a filling. Secure bonding is important because it prevents food and bacteria from becoming trapped underneath the crown. It also reduces the risk of a crown breaking or falling off.
If you need a crown lengthening procedure in the Ormond Beach area, Dr. Beauchamp at Ormond Beach Periodontics is now accepting new patients. Schedule your consultation today.