Cosmetic Periodontal Treatment

Cosmetic periodontal plastic surgical procedures help to create a beautiful framework for your teeth. The gum tissue which surrounds your natural teeth and restorations needs to be healthy and in the correct position and dimension to achieve a natural and esthetic smile. Your restorative dentist can then help you improve your smile by designing and enhancing your smile with perfect crowns or veneers if required. (copied, slightly modified)

Although your teeth may appear short, they may actually be the proper length. The teeth may be covered with too much gum tissue, or your underlying bone may be too close to the margin where your crown meets the root. This occurrence is simply known as Altered Passive Eruption. Dr. Shelby can correct this by performing esthetic crown lengthening. During this procedure, excess gum and bone tissue are reshaped to expose more of the natural tooth. This can be done to more than one tooth to even your gum line and to create a beautiful smile.

Crown Lengthening

Functional Crown Lengthening
Esthetic Crown Lengthening

Crown lengthening is often required when your tooth needs a new crown or other restoration. The edge of the restoration is deep below the gum tissue and not immediately accessible. It is also usually too close to the bone or below the bone. The crown lengthening procedure allows us to reach the edge of the restoration and ensures a proper fit to the tooth. It will also provide enough tooth structure so that the new restoration will not come loose in the future. This allows you to clean the edge of the restoration when you brush and floss to prevent decay and gum disease.

The crown lengthening procedure is usually performed under local anesthetic and involves a series of small incisions around the tissue to separate the gums from the teeth. Even if only one tooth requires the procedure, it will likely be necessary to adjust the surrounding teeth to enable a more even reshaping. In some cases, removal of a small amount of bone will be necessary as well. (copied)

Depending on your individual situation, restorative work can be started as soon as six weeks post-surgery. Increased esthetic areas (anterior regions) may require up to 3-6 months prior to beginning the restorative process to allow for tissue maturity and increased accuracy of your final restoration.

Crown lengthening is performed to improve the health of the gum tissue or to correct a “gummy smile”. A “gummy smile” is when teeth are covered with an excess amount of gum tissue resulting in the teeth appearing “short”. The procedure involves reshaping or recontouring the gum tissue and bone to expose more of the natural tooth. Crown lengthening can be performed on a single tooth, multiple teeth or the entire gum line.

When Dr. Shelby is satisfied that the teeth have sufficient exposure and the procedure is completed, the incisions will be cleaned with sterile water. Sutures will then be placed to help secure the new gum-to-tooth relationship. Your teeth will look noticeably longer immediately after surgery because the gums have now been repositioned. You will need to be seen in one or two weeks to evaluate your healing. The surgical site should be completely healed in approximately two to three months following the procedure.

Frenectomy

A frenectomy is simply the surgical removal of a frenum. A frenum is a naturally occurring muscle attachment found between both the upper and lower front teeth. It connects the inner part of the lip with the gum. A lack of attached gingiva, in conjunction with a high (closer to the biting surface) frenum attachment, which exaggerates the pull on the gum margin, can result in recession. An excessively large frenum can prevent the teeth from coming together resulting in a gap between the front teeth. Dr. Shelby can perform this procedure to surgically release the gum tissue.

The procedure is often performed using a soft tissue laser does NOT cut, it is more a “vaporization” of tissue that occurs with light energy. There is very little discomfort with the laser. Some children and adults sleep through the procedure. There is almost no bleeding from the laser procedure. Lasers sterilize at touch therefore have less risk of infection. The healing is very quick because a laser stimulates bio-regeneration and healing that results in beautiful tissue, and less chance of relapse.

Children may be born with a condition called ankyloglossia (tongue-tie) which is a restriction of tongue movements as a result of fusion or adherence of the tongue to the floor of the mouth. Normal tongue function is important for multiple reasons. Among the many benefits, normal tongue function will allow a baby to latch adequately and breastfeed efficiently, promote normal speech development, make it possible for a child to self-cleanse the mouth during eating, allow adequate swallowing patterns, allow for proper growth and development, and it makes fun little things like eating ice cream, kissing or sticking your tongue out to catch snowflakes possible. (copied) These issues can generally be corrected by the simple procedure described above.

Cosmetic Periodontal Treatment