Having an aesthetically pleasant smile is what everyone desires. It helps boost your confidence and social acceptance. You can easily achieve a healthy, and beautiful smile through cosmetic dentistry. Be it correcting a gummy smile, or preparing your mouth for cosmetic procedures, crown lengthening plays a key role. 

It is a procedure to expose more of the natural tooth by reshaping or resculpting bone and gum tissues by a highly skilled Los Gatos dentist

Some common considerations for crown lengthening

Crown lengthening is a procedure designed to reshape your gums at the base of the affected tooth.

This is performed due to the following reasons:

  • Cosmetic purpose
    • Having extra gum tissues as seen in patients with a gummy smile can make the teeth look unnaturally short. 
    • Such teeth are more prone to periodontal infections. 
    • Removal of excess gum tissues can restore and improve the aesthetic appearance of your smile. 
  • Restoration of damaged teeth
    • Most often periodontal disease, dental decay, and trauma can cause severe damage to the teeth. 
    • Crown lengthening becomes necessary when the damage occurs below the gum line which makes it difficult to access the area for restoring the damaged teeth. 
  • Fabrication of dental crowns
    • Due to insufficient space between the crown and jawbone, dental crowns can harm the gum tissues and the underlying bone. 
    • Properly fitted crowns allow better oral hygiene and comfort.

In-depth procedure details

Procedure

  • Crown lengthening is an outpatient procedure performed under local anesthesia (a numbing agent) to ease pain and discomfort. 
  • Your dentist will remove any temporary crowns in any of the neighboring teeth. 
  • Your dentist will make small incision/s (cuts) near the gum tissues (depending on the number of teeth involved) and pull them away to expose the underlying roots and bone. 
  • According to your individual condition, your dentist may remove only the gum tissues, or may even remove part of your bone as well. 
  • Bone removal can be done using hand and rotary instruments.
  • The surgical area will be thoroughly cleaned with an antiseptic solution.
  • The incision will then be closed using sutures and a periodontal pack will be placed over it for healing, and additional protection. 

Aftercare 

  • Your teeth will look visibly longer immediately after surgery. 
  • Usually, it may take 3 months for the gum tissues to heal completely. 
  • Your dentist will prescribe medications for pain relief and a chlorhexidine mouth rinse to prevent infection

Conclusion

Crown lengthening is a versatile procedure with many uses and benefits. When performed by a skilled dental professional, you can expect your procedure to go smoothly with enhanced oral health.