Healthy gums are essential to maintaining excellent oral health. If your gums are uneven, they can create pockets or “spaces” between your teeth and gums and teeth. These “pockets” can harbor bacteria, which can damage the gums and teeth. A gum recontouring procedure can help to even out the gum line and reduce the appearance of pockets or spaces between teeth.
What Is Gum Recontouring?
Gum contouring is a cosmetic dentistry procedure that sculpts the gums and removes excess tissue to improve the smile’s appearance. By removing this tissue, it can improve the appearance of the teeth while also reducing irritation caused by uneven or overgrown gums. If you are looking to correct an uneven gum line, this could be the right treatment for you.
During the procedure, the dentist will use a laser or a scalpel to carefully trim away the excess gum tissue. This will reshape the gum line for an improved appearance. Afterward, the patient may be sent home to recover with some antibiotics to fight the risk of infection. The dentist may also give the patient some pain medication after the procedure as well. Most patients only need one session to get the results they’re looking for from a gum contouring procedure. However, some patients may require multiple sessions to achieve their desired results. It’s a good idea to discuss with your dentist how many they would need in order to get the results you’re hoping for. This will depend on how severe the overgrowth is and your overall oral health.
What Does Gum Recontouring Address?
In order to give you a beautiful smile, our skilled cosmetic dentists employ laser dentistry technology to reshape gum tissue.
The following are some of the reasons why many of our patients who need gum recontouring see a cosmetic dentist:
- Teeth that appear to be excessively short
- Extra gum tissue or gum bulges around your teeth
- Uneven gum line
- Too much gum tissue is visible while smiling
Benefits
Gum recession occurs when the roots of the teeth become exposed due to a lack of gum tissue, and this exposure can cause a range of oral health issues. Although some people are more prone to developing gum disease, it’s common to experience gum recession as you age. This means that your dentist may recommend a treatment like a gum recontour to treat your receding gums. Gum recontouring is a cosmetic procedure that can improve the appearance of your smile by reshaping the gum line. This procedure can also eliminate oral discomfort caused by an uneven gumline and improve the health of your teeth and gums by eliminating pockets that trap food and bacteria and become breeding grounds for infection. Patients can also experience improved aesthetics and less embarrassment about the appearance of their smile.
Process
When a patient suffers from a gummy smile, the dentist can correct it by sculpting the gums. This is done by removing excess gum tissue and reshaping the teeth. This can be done with lasers or scalpels. Sculpting the gums is a relatively painless procedure that is done under local anesthesia. Gum recontouring is considered when the patient is uncomfortable with their smile and wants a more proportionate look. In some cases, the patient’s teeth might be worn down from grinding and might require dental crowns to restore their smile. In this case, it’s best to perform the gum recontouring first and save the tooth restoration for a later date.
If patients are dealing with excessive gum tissue as a result of gum disease, then they will need to treat the issue first with scaling and root planing before proceeding with gum recontouring. It’s always best to have these issues resolved before undergoing cosmetic procedures.
To learn more, visit Georgetown Cosmetic Dentistry at 2440 M Street, NW, Suite 328, Washington, DC 20037, or call (202) 785-4141 for the best dental care.