A simple way to feel more confident in your smile

When you smile, your gums tend to fade into the background, playing a supporting role to your teeth in the overall appearance of your smile. A supporting role is still a role, though, and your gums can actually have a huge impact on the appearance of a smile even if you don’t consciously realize it. The ratio of gums to teeth in your smile can have a subtle impact on how short or long your teeth look. Smiles that have a higher ratio of gums to teeth can look more youthful. Some people find gummy smiles adorable and don’t mind them, but others feel self-conscious about it.

If you have a gummy smile or believe that your teeth appear too small, it might feel like there’s no simple solution. Thankfully, there is! You may be a candidate for a simple cosmetic procedure known as gum contouring. Although it’s quick and simple, gum contouring can permanently change the appearance of your smile, improving the ratio between your gums and teeth, helping you feel more confident in your smile. We know how game-changing this news can be for many people, so we’ve put together a guide to help you determine if this procedure might be right for you. 

What is gum contouring and what issues can it fix?

Do you ever find yourself wondering, “What is gum contouring?” The answer is fairly simple. Gum contouring is a simple cosmetic dentistry procedure that permanently changes your gumline. Most often, this is done by removing excess gum tissue to reshape or shift the height of your gumline. It’s often used to improve the appearance of gums that rest too low, causing your teeth to appear too short or small. In this case, the extra gum tissue is removed to improve the proportions of your smile. The procedure can also be used to change the shape of uneven or misshapen gums, making them more symmetrical. In either case, the procedure can bring about seemingly small changes that absolutely transform the appearance of your smile. 

How is gum contouring carried out?

Gum contouring is a fairly simple process. Dr. Farless begins by giving you localized anesthesia to ensure that the entire procedure is completely painless. He’ll also likely mark your gums to show exactly where your new gum line will be, allowing you to see how much of your gums will be removed and giving him a precise guide to follow during the procedure. Once the area is numb, he’ll use a soft tissue laser to carefully reshape your gums, sculpting a new, beautifully natural gumline for you. The length of the procedure varies based on how much work you need done, but it generally takes between one and two hours to complete.

What are the benefits of gum contouring done with a soft tissue laser?  

Soft tissue lasers are advanced pieces of technology that transform your treatment experience and provide better overall outcomes. There are many benefits to having your gum contouring procedure carried out with a soft tissue laser instead of a traditional scalpel. Soft tissue lasers use a specialized, concentrated wavelength of light to cut your tissue.

The laser is extremely precise and cauterizes your gums as it cuts, which sterilizes the area and leads to less bleeding and swelling. The minimal bleeding makes it easier for Dr. Farless to always see exactly what’s going on, which helps him be even more precise. At the same time, the laser’s ability to cauterize and sterilize your gums as it cuts them reduces or eliminates the need for stitches, decreases the risk of infection, and cuts down on your healing time when compared to gum contouring carried out with traditional scalpels. Plus, soft tissue lasers are nearly painless even without localized anesthesia, often reducing or eliminating the need for it.

Together, these benefits make soft tissue lasers a less invasive treatment method than traditional scalpels. They can improve your experience during the procedure, make your healing process easier and faster, and help you gain better results afterward! These benefits make it beyond worth it to seek out a dentist like Dr. Farless, who makes a point to use this cutting-edge technology during gum contouring.

How can gum contouring transform your smile?  

The science behind what makes a smile aesthetically pleasing says that an ideal smile shows less than 3mm of gum tissue between the bottom of your upper lip and your teeth. If your gums come down lower than this, it can throw off the proportion of teeth to gums when you smile, giving you a gummy smile. The good news is that average-sized teeth are usually underneath this extra gum tissue, so removing it using gum contouring is a quick and easy way to make your smile proportionate. As a result, teeth that previously appeared too short are lengthened in appearance, becoming a much more average size. Even though it’s a quick and simple change, gum contouring can transform the appearance of your smile by making it more proportionate or symmetrical.

What are the benefits of gum contouring?

Since it’s a cosmetic dentistry treatment, the main benefits of gum contouring rest in its ability to transform your smile. By doing so, it can help you feel happier and more confident overall. It might sound simple, but this increase in confidence can transform many aspects of your daily life. You don’t have to worry or feel self-conscious about your smile anymore—you can simply enjoy smiling! You can express yourself and your joy or amusement with complete confidence, which can change the way you interact with other people and help you come across as friendlier or more competent. This can benefit you at work or in your personal life.

While a gummy smile or uneven gums might seem like permanent features of your smile at first, modern dentistry ensures you can still have the confident smile of your dreams! Gum contouring using laser dentistry is a quick, easy, and minimally invasive way to permanently transform your smile, giving you the newfound confidence that comes with truly loving the way your smile looks. If you’d like to learn more about gum contouring and whether it’s right for you from your Greensboro cosmetic dentist, feel free to schedule a consultation with Dr. Farless at any time.