What is the crown lengthening procedure?

Has the appearance of your smile always bothered you? Is it the size of your large gums? Or how small your teeth look in comparison? You may be surprised to hear that there is a cosmetic dental procedure that may be just the solution for your concerns. The crown lengthening in savage mn procedure is a dental procedure where excess gum and bone tissue is removed to expose more of the natural teeth. The procedure is the perfect solution to improve the aesthetic appearance of a “gummy” smile. If your dentist has recently suggested a crown lengthening procedure, you may be curious about what exactly is involved in the procedure and what the recovery period is like. Below is more information to help you get started.

Why crown lengthening?

The goal of the crown lengthening procedure is to remove excess gum and bone tissue around the teeth to make more of the natural teeth visible. There are two common reasons why a crown lengthening procedure may be needed:

  • Improve the aesthetic appearance of the smile: If the gums are oversized and make the teeth look small or short, the purpose of the procedure may be to trim the excess gum covering several teeth to change the appearance of the overall gumline. For most individuals with a “gummy smile”, the teeth are usually the appropriate size, but they are hidden by oversized gums. The end result of the procedure will be gums that are more proportional to the teeth.
  • Restore a decayed or damaged tooth: A tooth that is decayed or broken below the gum line may be challenging to repair. In these situations, the crown lengthening procedure can make restoration possible. The procedure will expose more of the structure of the decayed or damaged tooth, making it possible for the new crown to be attached.

The crown lengthening procedure

Crown lengthening is a minor periodontal surgery, where gum tissue is surgically removed to expose more structure of the natural teeth. While the steps of the procedure depend on the overall goal, there are a few common steps involved:

  1. Anesthetic: The surgeon will numb the area with local anesthetic.
  2. Tissue removal: After the area is numbed the dentist will make tiny cuts in the gum to remove the tissue around the teeth. If the tooth needs to be restored, more tissue may be removed than for procedures where the goal is to even out the gums.
  3. Clean up: When the surgeon is satisfied with the amount of tissue removed, the area will be sterilized and stitches will be put in to maintain the new shape of the gums.

How long the procedure takes and how much work is needed will depend on the treatment plan. If just one tooth is being worked on the procedure will be much quicker.

Recovery from the Procedure

Immediately after the procedure some pain and swelling should be expected. Ice and over the counter pain medication can help with this initial pain and swelling.  The stitches will need to be removed approximately 7-10 days after the procedure.

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