Restore Oral Health and A Beautiful Proportional Smile With Crown Lengthening, Courtesy of ClearCare Periodontal & Implant Centre in Winnipeg, MB

A “balanced” smile is an aesthetically pleasing smile. All its different components must be in proportion to each other. Notably, too little visible gum tissue or too much visible gum tissue can make your smile appear either too “toothy” or too “gummy.” Crown lengthening brings your teeth and gums into attractive harmony.

Many factors contribute to excessive soft tissue around the white crown of the tooth that everyone sees. As little as 3 millimeters of visible gum tissue can cause the gum line to overwhelm the appearance of your teeth. So, while your teeth may be the proper length, they do not look that way because of the excess tissue.

Also known as gingival hyperplasia, hypertrophy, or overgrowth, this condition may be due to how the teeth, supportive bone, and gums develop. Additionally, some families may be susceptible to collagen overproduction, which promotes gum overgrowth. Some medications and systemic conditions can also trigger gingival hypertrophy. Likewise, unhealthy gums may also trigger overgrowth due to inflammation.

To properly treat this condition, we must understand what is causing it.

Our knowledgeable Periodontist Dr. Hoda Hosseini has many years of experience in preventing, diagnosing, and treating these conditions which affect the health and appearance of your gums. Excessive wear on the teeth (shortened teeth) can also provide an unbalanced look and dental treatments may be in order in addition to or instead of gingival therapies.

Crown lengthening

Crown lengthening is the process of creating the appearance of longer teeth among patients with “short” teeth. This process may also be necessary to address fractures or decays below the gumline. Crown lengthening creates sufficient tooth structure to restore damaged teeth. Depending on your needs, our periodontists may shape and remove excess gums and/or underlying bone. Small openings are made to push the gums and access the underlying teeth by removing a slight amount of bone. In this manner, more of the crown is exposed. The specific steps and techniques required to get the cosmetic or restorative improvement that you desire depend on factors such as the number of teeth to be treated. Sometimes, minimal gum tissue is altered. In other cases, the bone may be removed from the roots to achieve symmetry. The treatment site is then cleansed, and openings to access underlying tissues are closed.

Following an evaluation, we may also determine that other treatment options are on the horizon. Periodontal therapy may be necessary to remove bacteria from the pockets between the teeth and gums. Likewise, orthodontic treatments or restorations may reposition or build up natural teeth to achieve balance at the gumline.

Call (204) 421-9236 to schedule your evaluation at ClearCare Periodontal & Implant Centre.