Unlike Gummy Bears, a gummy smile is not usually considered a cute thing. If a wide expanse of your upper gums shows when you smile, you may know what I mean.
Granted, a gummy smile is not the worst aesthetic problem someone can have, not by a long shot. But some people are very self-conscious about extreme gum exposure when they smile. This can cause them to hide their mouth or even stop smiling to the point where it colors what others think of them.
If you’re just the person I’m talking about, meaning your gummy smile really bothers you but you feel silly even thinking about “fixing” it, there may be good news for you. Cosmetic dentists and plastic surgeons in growing numbers are able to help many people like you with a relatively simple procedure.
A study presented at the recent annual conference of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reviews the operation. In a brief outpatient procedure under local anesthesia, the plastic surgeon makes a few small incisions in the muscle that lifts the upper lip while lengthening the piece of skin inside the mouth that connects the lip to the gums.
All ten patients presented in the ASPS study showed smile improvement, with an average reduction in gum exposure of more than 3mm. Incisions are hidden in the nostrils and mouth, so no visible scarring occurs.
In the past, the approach to correcting a gummy smile has often involved procedures like gingivectomies. That means removing gum tissue surgically or with a laser—a procedure that sometimes involves a lengthy, uncomfortable healing process. For those who are good candidates, the newer smile reduction or lip lowering procedure is much less invasive.
If the combination of your lips, gums and teeth add up to a smile you don’t think is pleasing, the cause may be orthodontic work, medications or simple genetics. And the approach to changing your smile may be simple or may require a bit more work. The point is, the options are increasing.
If you’ll allow me one suggestion, seek the advice of friends and family you trust before you make any decisions. I recently read the posts of one young woman with a gummy smile. At first she seemed quite distressed about it, but as she asked her friends for their input she realized that none of them had noticed her gums showing. She ultimately concluded that what she had thought was a real problem just wasn’t too important anymore.
But if you truly feel you would experience a great sense of relief if you could just fine tune your smile, do some homework. Consult the Web sites of both cosmetic dentists and plastic surgeons who specialize in treating gummy smiles. Review the news from the ASPS conference here: http://www.plasticsurgery.org/Media/News_Briefs.html.