Crown Lengthening Can Help Improve Your Smile

If you want a bigger, more brilliant smile, you may want to find out if crown lengthening would be the best procedure for you. It can be done for both restorative reasons, and for cosmetic reasons, but it will leave you with a more brilliant smile than when you started. You can also have better oral health if you get it done. The procedure takes only a little bit of time, and the results are instant. It may be one that you should speak with us about, since it can give you such a drastic improvement in the smile you show the world.

What Exactly Is Crown Lengthening?

When you look in the mirror and smile, what do you see? Do you see more gums than teeth? If so, you may be the ideal candidate for a crown lengthening procedure. This procedure removes excess gum tissue, exposing more of the crown of your tooth, which is where the name came from. It allows you to have a brighter smile because more of each tooth shows when you do smile. You can have this procedure done to just one tooth if only one seems to have more gum tissue than the rest. Alternately, you can also have this done to numerous teeth or your entire mouth. It is up to you and the experts here at Walker Periodontics & Implant Dentistry to figure out what is best for your situation.

During the procedure, you will get some of the excess gum tissue removed. You will also have the bone that holds that specific tooth reshaped so that it can better hold your tooth in place with the new gum structure. You will not feel anything during the procedure, as the area is totally numb before anything begins. It can also be done with the help of oral sedation, if you want a little extra reassurance. This procedure is quite common, and is done for a wide variety of reasons. If it is brought up to you as a potential option, it is important you find out what the goal of it is for you.  

Why Would One Need to Get Crown Lengthening?

There are two main reasons to get crown lengthening. The first is purely cosmetic. If you want to see more of your teeth and less of your gums, then crown lengthening is the only way to be able to do that. By removing some of the excess gum tissue, you show off more of your teeth and get a brighter smile out of it. This is common, and can go a long way towards giving you a smile you can be proud to show off.

The other reason that people get crown lengthening done is to help restore their oral health. When you have a tooth that broke below the gum line, you need to remove some of that gum tissue to restore the tooth. The same goes if your tooth had decay on it. The only way to restore that tooth is to remove a bit of that extra gum tissue with a crown lengthening procedure, and expose more of the tooth. Most tooth restoration procedures require at least 2 millimeters of tooth surface to attach the restoration to. If there is not at least those 2 millimeters of healthy tooth, the tooth may not be able to be restored, leaving you to face the effects that come with an extraction.

Are There Any Downsides or Risks of Crown Lengthening?

There are a few downsides of having crown lengthening done, but none of them are big if you do everything you can to care for your mouth after the procedure. First, you may have some discomfort. This can easily be managed by taking a schedule of over the counter pain relievers to keep the inflammation down. If the pain gets to be more than what over the counter medications can assist with, call us to find out about more powerful medication.

Second, your mouth will be swollen for a little while after the procedure. So long as you are following the post-op instructions we gave you, then this will go down in a few days. It is very important that you do the salt water rinses and keep your mouth clean immediately following the procedure. You can go back to work typically the day after having crown lengthening performed. However, you still need to be careful to eat soft foods for an extra day or two.

Finally, there is a risk for infection with crown lengthening. The risk is quite low if you keep your mouth clean. That is why we tell you how to maintain your oral hygiene routine after the procedure is done. If you go through and brush gently, floss, and rinse, then in 1-2 weeks, your gums should be healed, and you should ready to show your smile off to the world.

Turn to Walker Periodontics & Implant Dentistry When You Want Crown Lengthening

When you decide that crown lengthening is something you want to find out more about, then it is important that you talk to us. We can help explain the procedure to you, and give you an idea of what your smile will look like when the procedure is complete. It is a very common procedure we perform regularly. We can explain the benefits that could come along with having the procedure done in detail if you want to know about them. Whether you are choosing crown lengthening for cosmetic or restorative purposes, we can help. Just give us a call here at Walker Periodontics & Implant Dentistry today, and let us work with you to help you get the healthy, brilliant smile you were hoping for.

To get that big, contagious smile that others cannot help but smile back at when you show it, there are a few procedures you can have done. By turning to the experts at Walker Periodontics & Implant Dentistry, you can explore your options. Call (972)462-9800 today, and let us see if the right procedure for you is crown lengthening.