Crown Lengthening

Because gum tissue health is so important, a crown lengthening procedure may be performed to improve the condition of your gums. It is also often used to prepare your mouth for cosmetic or restorative procedures. Additionally, crown lengthening may be used to correct a “gummy” smile, which means your teeth are covered with excessive gum tissue. The procedure exposes more of the natural tooth by recontouring or reshaping your bone and gum tissue. A single tooth, multiple teeth or the entire gum line might require crown lengthening which will expose a pleasant, aesthetically pleasing smile.

Reasons for crown lengthening

Crown lengthening has various versatile and effective uses and benefits. Patients that have had this kind of surgery are greatly pleased with the results.

Some common reasons for crown lengthening include:

•Cosmetic purposes – Teeth may look unnaturally short when extra gum tissue is present as well as increase your susceptibility to periodontal disease. Removing that excess can bring back that balanced, healthy look, improving the aesthetic appearance of your smile.
•Dental crowns – At times, additional space between the supporting jawline and dental crown may be needed to prevent damage to the gum tissues and bone. Crown lengthening will prevent the crown from causing damage.
•Restoration of damaged teeth – Severe damage to your teeth such as decay and trauma can arise due to periodontal disease. If teeth have broken underneath the gum line, crown lengthening may be required to prepare the area for restorative processes to correct your damaged teeth.
What is involved with crown lengthening?

Local anesthetic is typically used for a crown lengthening procedure. Various factors such as the number of teeth involved, whether any bone needs to be removed, as well as the condition of the soft tissue will determine the amount of time your procedure will take. Existing crowns will be removed before the procedure and replaced immediately following its completion.

Dr. Wetmore will need to make a series of incisions around your soft tissue to move the gums away from the teeth. Even in cases of one tooth being involved, surrounding teeth will generally be treated to provide more even reshaping. This separation of the gums will provide access to roots of teeth and underlying bone.
At times, a small amount of tissue will be all that’s required to provide enough tooth exposure to place your crown. At other times, a small amount of bone will also need to be removed. This is generally accomplished utilizing a combination of special hand and rotary instruments. The rotary instruments are much like the drills you have seen used in cavity treatment.

Once the teeth have sufficient exposure, the dentist will clean the wound with sterile water and small stitches placed to suture the gum tissue. Right after the surgery your teeth will appear noticeably longer because the gums have been repositioned.

The surgical area will be secured with an intraoral (periodontal) bandage to prevent infection. Pain medication will be prescribed if required, and a chlorhexidine (antimicrobial) mouth rinse provided to prevent bacteria from trying to re-colonize. It will take approximately two to three months for the site to completely heal.

Please call us if you have any questions on crown lengthening.