Walnut Creek Cosmetic Dentistry

Dental cosmetics have more to do with aesthetics and perception than physical wellness, but the impact of our smile as how we view it and how we feel others view it, can improve our confidence, self-esteem, overall stress levels and positively impacts our mental health. One factor of dissatisfaction with ones smile is when there is an excessive display of gums or too little.

Having the optimal gum display can impact your reception of your smile. Too much or too little gum display can be caused by various things. Here are some of them:

• Tooth Eruption. Sometimes the tooth erupts in a different manner where the gums cover more of the tooth; this makes the tooth look relatively smaller when it is the normal length.
• Gum Recession. Gum recession is when the gum tissue pulls back from a tooth exposing more of the tooth’s surface.
• Muscle Movement. A hyperactive muscle reaction can cause your upper lip to move higher showing more of the gum area when you smile. On the contrary, a hypoactive muscle reaction shows less of the gum area.

These causes may be results of an oral health problem, improper dental routines, and genetics or drug side effects. To fix this, one of the options is gum contouring surgery.

Gum Contouring Surgery

Gum contouring surgery, also called tissue sculpting or gum reshaping, is a dental procedure that is considered a purely cosmetic one. However, procedures involving gum recession is also a medical procedure. This surgery can be performed by most general dentists and gum specialists with the usage of scalpels, radio surgery, or lasers.

The doctor is required to give an overview explaining the procedure with a visual of how the gum line will be reshaped. Some procedures would require tooth modification as well. It is always best to consult with one to two trusted dentists about your concern with your gums to see if you are a candidate for gum contouring. Looking at the portfolio of the operating doctor can also give you an example of how your surgery may turn out and if that fits your expectation towards the ideal smile you’re going for.