Gingival esthetics

In order to have a beautiful smile the aspect of the gums are just as important as the teeth. Although someone can have beautiful teeth, the smile may not appear attractive due to the alteration in the form or contours of the gums.

The aspect of the gum can look deteriorated due to:

• Gingival asymmetry: Asymmetrical smiles can occur due to asymmetrical gingival heights or uneven tooth shapes. This lack of harmony can be corrected with orthodontic treatment, porcelain veneers ,with a procedure called crown Lengthening or through a combination of these treatments.
• Periodontitis can cause:
  • Separation of teeth or the fanning out of the upper front teeth.
  • Or loss of gum tissue between teeth which leads to the appearance of a unaesthetic black triangles.
• Gum Recession: the recession of gums can be cause by aggressive brushing techniques, orthodontic treatment, periodontal disease or by periodontal treatment . Recession of the gums make the teeth look larger, creates gingival asymmetries, causes the root of the tooth to become exposed which causes tooth sensitivity, increased incidence of cavities and is an area which is much more yellow in color.
• Gummy smile: a harmonious smile to all of the teeth and only 0,5-1,5mm of gun tissue. In some cases patients show much more gum tissue than they should.A gummy smile can be caused by a defect in tooth eruption (altered passive eruption)or medicine that causes the gums to grow in a uncontrolled way or gum inflammation by using improper brushing techniques, orthodontic treatment or mouth breathing.
• Missing teeth and loss of gum surrounding the tooth. Gum tissue has a characteristic scalloped appearance and volume that is in harmony with the crown of the tooth. When a tooth is extracted, over half of the volume of the bone and gum that surrounds.The tooth is lost in less than one year. This loss in volume destroys the aesthetic symmetry and natural beauty of the smile.

The treatment of gingival aesthetics is done using regenerative techniques (addition) or resective techniques (elimination).In order to treat a case where there is a gingival excess, it is necessary to do a procedure called crown lengthening in which the gingivae is reshaped and gently removed in order to create a harmonious symmetrical smile. In order to treat gum asymmetry or gum recession, it is necessary to use soft tissue grafts. Not all cases will benefit from this type of treatment. Therefore it is necessary to do an exhaustive study of the case and know what the objectives of treatment are.