Crown Lengthening

A crown lengthening procedure is usually performed to fix a gummy smile, to foster better gum health, or to prepare for another procedure. A gummy smile refers to when teeth are covered with too much gum tissue, making your teeth appear shorter and can create a much less appealing smile. This procedure reshapes or recountours gum tissue and bone around the problematic tooth. This creates a new relationship between the gum and the tooth, changing the look of your smile. It can be completed on one tooth or many, or even your full gum line.

Crown lengthening would generally be required when a tooth needs a new crown or for other restoration. The edge that needs to be restored is far below the gum tissue and is often too close to the bone or below the bone, making it very difficult to access. The problem is solved by crown lengthening, which allows us to effectively reach the edge of the restoration allowing us to secure the correct fit for the tooth. It also will give enough tooth structure for the new restoration, which will help it from coming loose in the future. This means you will reach the edge of the restoration when you brush helping to prevent gum disease and general tooth decay.

Crown lengthening is not a very long procedure, generally taking about an hour depending on the amount of teeth that are being looked at and the amount of bone that will require removal. It does however generally use local anesthetic and requires a sequence of small incisions around the tissue to free the gums from the teeth. The procedure will generally affect nearby teeth even if it is just for one tooth, to facilitate more balanced reshaping. In certain cases a small extraction of bone may be required as well.

When we are convinced that your teeth have the required exposure, then the procedure has reached it’s end and the incision will be cleaned with a sterile water solution. We then apply sutures and a bandage to protect the new relationship between the gums and the tooth. The effects of the procedure will be clear after surgery now that the gums have been moved. After a week or so there will also need to be a follow up appointment to remove the sutures, see how well you are healing and deal with any issues. Full recovery usually takes between one to three months after the initial procedure.