When it comes to cosmetic dentistry, there are many techniques and procedures to help you get the smile of your dreams. From veneers to whitening, it can take only a few visits to create the smile that you desire. One of the common procedures performed during a smile makeover is a gum contouring. This procedure helps to enhance your smile and gets your teeth to stand out like they should. Here is everything you need to know about how gum contouring can improve your pearly whites.
What is Gum Contouring?
Gum contouring, also known as gingival contouring, is a permanent solution to reshape and contour the gum line to give you a more radiant smile. A laser is used to treat many different gum problems that can take away from the beauty of your smile. These include removing excess gum tissue. Your gum line can be contoured to look more even, uniform, and natural. Gum contouring can also help the appearance of small teeth, as this is usually causes by excess tissue covering the tooth making them appear smaller. Once this unneeded tissue is removed, the hidden portion of the tooth is revealed and it makes your “gummy” smile look more balanced.
Gum contouring is usually performed for cosmetic reasons to fix the appearance of too much gum showing in your smile. It can also be used to treat gums that are affected by poor dental hygiene, such as bad brushing habits that cause plaque to accumulate on gums. Gum contouring can sometimes be combined with bone contouring, to achieve your desired smile.
How Gum Contouring is Performed
A soft tissue laser is used to perform the gum contouring procedure. It is usually done in less than an hour. In order to keep you as comfortable as possible a local anesthetic may be applied. The laser is used to remove excess tissue and reshape gums. The unwanted tissue is not cut or burned, but rather vaporized by breaking down the cellular connection.
The excess tissue has no functional benefit so removing it will not cause your teeth any harm. The lasers can also be used to destroy trapped bacteria on areas of the gums to eliminate future infection. If your teeth are not straight, gum contouring can be combined with veneer implants for a full smile makeover.
This minimally invasive procedure is almost painless. The laser seals and sterilizes the gum tissue, which helps prevent bleeding and infection. It is best to get this procedure done by an experienced and well qualified cosmetic dentist. This is because they have an artistic eye and will be able to give an even and proportional gum shape. Once the procedure is complete, your gum line will be reshaped to enhance and balance your smile.
Before the innovative use of lasers, gum contouring was performed with a scalpel. As you can imagine, this process was painful, less precise, and required a longer recovery process. Lasers are able to precisely sculpt the gum line to look natural and proportional to your face. The laser seals and disinfects that gums as it cuts, which leads to little to no risk of infection and a very short healing time.
Recovery and Risks
After your gum contouring procedure, it is normal to experience slight swelling and discomfort. Follow diligent, proper dental hygiene while your gums are healing. When flossing and brushing your teeth and gums, be gentle to avoid any irritation. Irritation to your new gum line could lead to bleeding and infection. Although you must be careful to ensure proper healing, recovery time after the procedure is usually short, less than a day. The amount of time it will take your gums to heal will depend on how much of your gums have been removed and if bone contouring was involved.
You should avoid hard or crunchy foods that could potentially become stuck in your teeth or gums until you have fully recovered from your procedure. Your doctor may recommend sticking to liquid and soft foods for the first 24 hours after your gum contouring.
Medications to manage pain or prevent infections may be prescribed by your doctor. Recovery should not affect your everyday activities. If you and your doctor decide to include bone contouring with gum contouring, stitches may also need to heal. This means physical activity will need to be limited to avoid breaking them.
Will You Benefit from Gum Contouring?
Gum contouring may be right for you if you are unsatisfied with the amount of your gums that shows when you smile. If you have ever felt like you have a “gummy” smile or that your gums cover too much of your teeth, this treatment may be beneficial for you. Patients who want to fix an uneven gum line will love the precise results that the soft tissue laser provides. It can also help fix the unappealing appearance of gum tissue exposed between teeth.
Your smile is one of the first things people notice when they meet you. If you are unhappy with the way that your smile looks, it can be very apparent to the people that you have conversations with. This procedure offers a permanent solution for those that want to improve their self-confidence. Gum contouring leaves you with an enhanced smile and balanced gum line.
Gum contouring can be combined with other surgical and non-surgical procedures for a complete smile makeover, if there are other parts of your smile that you are not confident about. At Sarasota Smile Design, we pride ourselves in being able to give you a completely new beautifully, enhanced smile. This can often give you a rejuvenated and youthful appearance, without ever having to undergo plastic surgery.
The first step to the smile of your dreams is to call and make an appointment. If you are ready to get rid of your “gummy” smile, call for a consultation today to discuss if this procedure is right for you.
