Healthy gums are critical to your oral health and essential to your smile's appearance. However, gum tissue might get in the way of a beautiful smile. The situation mainly occurs if you have high, low, or uneven gums. Fortunately, a professional dentist can enhance your smile through gum contouring, a readily available procedure in most dental practices.
Gum contouring is a minor oral surgery procedure for adjusting the amount of gum tissue. Typically, dentists use scalpels, lasers, and radiosurgery during the process. Discover ways gum contouring enhances your smile.
1. Eliminates a Gummy Smile
Ideally, your teeth should be a significant portion of your smile. Therefore, if you can see excess gum tissue when you smile, you have a gummy smile. However, a gummy smile can interfere with your smile's aesthetics even if you have sparkling teeth. The reason is that excess gum tissue exposure might draw stares and make you self-conscious when you smile.
Consider gum contouring if you believe your gummy smile has gotten in the way of your social life. A dentist will slowly trim excess gum tissue during the procedure using a scalpel or laser. The procedure's main objective is to balance your gumline and teeth. You do not have to worry about pain because laser gum reshaping is effectively painless.
2. Stops Severe Gum Recession
Healthy gums cover the roots of individual teeth, which keeps your pearly whites clean and holds them firmly in place. However, gum disease can gradually cause the tissue to pull away from your teeth. Over time, receding gums allow bacteria and plaque to attack your teeth, making them susceptible to decay. Decaying teeth can significantly affect your smile unless you stop your gums from receding.
Gum contouring can help stop gum recession through grafting. The process involves regenerating receding gums using tissue from other places in the mouth. As you heal, the gum grafts cover exposed teeth roots and protect them from decay and sensitivity. Thus, gum contouring helps resolve any aesthetic concerns due to gum recession.
3. Evens the Gumline
Some people smile less because some of their teeth seem larger than others. Others cover their mouths when they smile to hide their imperfections. However, you will be surprised to learn that the problem is often an irregular gumline — not teeth. A licensed dentist can reshape the gumline at specific points to make it even across your smile.
Gum contouring helps achieve symmetry along your gumline by targeting individual teeth. For instance, low gum tissue on your right incisor can make the tooth appear smaller than the left. Therefore, trimming excess tissue around the affected area creates an even gumline and symmetrical teeth for a beautiful smile.
4. Hides Minor Gum Sores
You can sustain minor bruises on your gums if you overbrush or use hard-bristled brushes. The contusions are easily visible on a gummy smile since more gum is tissue exposed. Unfortunately, conspicuous gum bruises can create an impression of poor oral hygiene and force you to avoid smiling in public until the injury heals.
Since gum contouring helps expose more teeth, trimming excess tissue makes any gum bruises less visible when you smile. Therefore, you do not have to worry about other people seeing your bruised gums. Most importantly, gum contouring allows you to smile naturally as your gum injuries heal behind the scenes.
Various dental procedures can help improve your smile. However, contouring is the best place to start if you have excess gum tissue. Contact us and schedule an appointment to learn more about our smile-enhancing procedures. We look forward to helping you smile your best!
