When you smile, are your upper teeth nicely framed by your gums, or do you feel you show a bit too much gum tissue? Perhaps your upper teeth look a bit short compared to the amount of gum tissue displayed during smiling? If the answer is yes to either of these questions, you might just have what’s called a “gummy smile” and which can almost certainly be treated comfortably here at Margolian Dentistry.

Why Would I Have a Gummy Smile?
It’s quite possible that your teeth are simply covered with an excess of gum tissue and that underneath your gums, they may be the proper length. Another possible cause is that the muscle controlling your upper lip movement is hyperactive so that when you smile your upper lip rises higher than normal, exposing more of your gum tissue. Sometimes a gummy smile is caused by the way the upper jawbone develops.

The definition of a gummy smile is very much a matter of perception and can vary considerably from person to person. However, usually, when someone shows more than 4 mm of gum tissue, their smile is perceived as being gummy. Ideally, when you smile you should reveal very little gum tissue, and the gum visible in your smile line should frame your teeth evenly, having balanced contours that work harmoniously with your upper lip. When this isn’t the case, people often feel their smile is unattractive and may hide behind their hand or even worse, try not to smile.

What to Do If You Think You Have a Gummy Smile?
If you feel you have a gummy smile, make an appointment to visit our dentist in Oshawa. We can examine your mouth and your teeth and gums and can determine if you do show an excess of gum tissue. During this assessment we may take digital photos or impressions of your teeth and gums, or dental x-rays to examine your teeth roots and jawbones more carefully. We can discuss with you how many teeth require treatment, as it could be that just one or two might need reshaping, or that it would be beneficial to reshape all the gum tissue around your upper teeth carefully. Often, a gummy smile is easily treated using laser dentistry.

Using Laser Dentistry for Gummy Smiles
Our advanced dental laser in Whitby can remove excess gum tissue more comfortably than conventional surgery using a scalpel. Treatment is minimally invasive, and our dentists take tremendous care when reshaping the gums, ensuring only excess tissue is removed and leaving your teeth framed beautifully by healthy gum tissue. You might not even need dental anesthetic with laser dentistry.

Laser dentistry is very effective and virtually painless, and there is no need for stitches. Afterwards, healing should be quicker as laser therapy reduces bleeding, swelling and discomfort. This is because the energy of the laser seals any small blood vessels that may be cut during treatment, a process called thermocoagulation and which also reduces the risk of any infection.

Our dental laser is the Waterlas® iPlus All-Tissue Laser, which means it can treat both hard tissues like teeth and bone, as well as soft tissues like your gums. This dental laser is especially gentle, producing a fine spray of water during treatment that helps to ensure treatment is even more comfortable for our patients.

Laser dentistry in Ajax is perfect for treating gummy smiles, but if you show too much gum tissue because of another reason, such as an overactive upper lip muscle or because of the way your upper jawbone has developed, we can talk to you about ways to correct these problems.