Surgical Procedures
Cosmetic Periodontal Surgery
Cosmetic procedures are designed to improve your smile. There are predictable ways, such as soft tissue grafting, to cover unsightly, sensitive or exposed root surfaces and to prevent future gum recession. If you are unhappy with the appearance of short teeth or feel that your smile is too gummy, your appearance can be greatly improved by cosmetic periodontal procedures or by a combination of these procedures and cosmetic dentistry by your general dentist. Sometimes, when teeth are missing, the ridge will resorb or shrink, resulting in an unnatural shape of the ridge. There are several procedures to repair these defects.
Cosmetic Crown Lengthening
Although your teeth appear short, they may actually be the proper length. The teeth may be covered with too much gum tissue. We can correct this by performing the periodontal plastic surgery procedure, cosmetic crown lengthening.
During this procedure, excess gum and sometimes bone tissue is reshaped to expose more of the natural tooth. This can be done to more than one tooth, to even your gum line, and to create a beautiful smile.
Soft Tissue Graft
Another cosmetic procedure is the soft tissue graft. It is used to cover unattractive tooth roots, reduce gum recession and protect the roots from decay and eventual loss.
Tooth loss causes the jawbone to recede and can lead to an unnatural looking indentation in your gums and jaw, an appearance of a general aging. The original look of your mouth may not be recaptured because of spaces remaining under and between replacement teeth. They may appear too long compared to nearby teeth. There are procedures to either replace the missing bone or augment the missing gum tissue to make these defects appear natural.
Before and After Gum Grafting
