When you have a gummy smile, or one that’s affected by your gum tissues covering uneven areas of your teeth, the appearance of your smile can be dominated by it. Because of this, correcting a gummy smile with cosmetic gum contouring could be a significant advantage in improving your smile’s overall appearance. However, uneven gum tissues can impact more than you may realize at first. By contouring them to straighten your gum line, you can also improve other important aspects of your long-term oral health.
What does gum contouring mean?
Cosmetic dental treatments are usually designed to address specific aspects of your smile’s appearance. For instance, teeth-whitening is designed specifically to erase the stains that may develop on the surfaces of your teeth and brighten their overall appearance. In the case of gum contouring, the goal is to create an even and symmetrical frame of gum tissues around your teeth. This involves gently trimming the gum tissues that cover more areas of certain teeth than they do others. After contouring your gum line, it will evenly cover proportionate areas of all of your teeth and improve the overall appearance of your smile.
When it’s usually the recommended solution
Because gum contouring has such a highly specific goal, it isn’t performed as frequently as most other cosmetic dental treatments. Gummy smiles may be common, but they don’t affect everyone, and they aren’t always serious enough to require contouring. However, when the affect is noticeable, or when the misalignment of your gum tissues is enough to increase the risks to your gum health, then gum contouring can be an important treatment option for the appearance and health of your smile.
The advantages to contouring your gum line
When you straighten your gum line with gum contouring, you can enjoy the confidence of knowing that your smile is no longer noticeably gummy. In the long run, however, the advantages of having a straighter and more symmetrical gum line can be much more important. For example, when you brush your teeth twice and floss once each day, it’ll be easier to successfully clean away any buildup of oral bacteria along your gum line as well as your teeth’s surfaces. This is essential to preventing or lowering your risks of developing gingivitis, which is the beginning stage of more severe gum disease.
Learn if you can benefit from gum contouring
Contouring your gums when they’re uneven not only improves your smile’s appearance, but can also reduce your risks of periodontal health issues like gum disease. To learn more, or to schedule an appointment, call Lake Orion Family Dentistry in Lake Orion, MI, today at 248-693-6213.
