A captivating and appealing smile is undoubtedly a symbol of beauty and confidence. While most people often pay attention to the alignment and the whiteness of your teeth, you cannot overlook the role of proper gum aesthetics in achieving an appealing and harmonious smile. Gumlines enhance your smile's aesthetic appeal.

Some people have low gum lines, others have high gum lines, and some could even notice unevenness. Fortunately, these imperfections are treatable through gum contouring to achieve a celebrity-like smile.

If you are self-conscious about the symmetry and shape of your gum lines, you should consider visiting a periodontist to know whether you are an excellent candidate for gum contouring. Through gum contouring surgery, your periodontist can reshape your gums to help correct the uneven smile and make it aesthetically appealing.

Understanding What Gum Contouring Is and Some of the Reasons for This Procedure

Also known as gingival sculpting, gum reshaping, or gum lift, gum contouring is a cosmetic procedure a dental provider, often a periodontist, performs using laser technology to help recontour and reshape the gum tissues surrounding your teeth. This procedure primarily aims to reshape the existing or excess gum tissues to create a more aesthetically appealing and straight smile appearance.

Fortunately, it is a minimally invasive procedure, meaning you will not experience discomfort during the procedure, all thanks to the advancement of technology and the availability of sedation options, like nitrous oxide and general anesthesia. Generally speaking, you would be an excellent candidate for this cosmetic dental procedure if you are unhappy with your smile appearance due to the following reasons:

  1. Uneven Gum Line

Sometimes, irregularities in your gum line could make them appear asymmetrical, with some areas being higher or lower than others. Fortunately, gum contouring could help create an even and smooth gumline for the appealing and well-curved smile you deserve.

  1. Gummy Smile

Gummy smiles are another reason why people seek the services of periodontists for gum contouring. If you have a gummy smile, too much gum tissue shows up whenever you smile, making some teeth appear shorter than others.

  1. Gum Recession

Often caused by gum diseases, aggressive brushing, and injuries, gum recession occurs when your gums pull away from your teeth, exposing parts of your tooth roots.

  1. Some Teeth Appear Shorter than Others

Sometimes, a gum contouring procedure can help expose more of your teeth surface, especially when you have overgrown gum tissues.

While gum contouring is often an elective procedure, your periodontist could recommend this procedure to help improve your oral health. For example, sometimes your periodontist could recommend this procedure for the following reasons:

Functional Improvement

Sometimes, excessive gum tissues in your mouth can cause functional issues. For example, brushing your teeth properly and effectively could be challenging, increasing your risk of gum diseases and cavities. A gum contouring procedure can assist in creating a conducive environment promoting excellent dental and oral hygiene.

Mouth Preparation for Other Dental Procedures

In some cases, gum contouring surgery could be necessary to prepare your mouth for other dental procedures, like a dental crown or veneer placement. Through contouring, your periodontist can create a well-aligned gumline to ensure the outcome of these treatments is as aesthetically appealing as possible.

An Overview of the Gum Contouring Process

Understanding the gum contouring process can help lessen concerns about this cosmetic procedure. Here is what you should anticipate:

  1. Initial Evaluation

Your journey to a catchy and aesthetically appealing smile begins with a personalized assessment of your smile and gums. During this appointment, your periodontist will:

Examine Your Smile

The dentist must assess your gums, teeth, and overall facial structure to determine the best treatment for your unique smile.

Discuss Your Cosmetic Goals

After the gum contouring procedure, your periodontist will allow you to express your opinion and what you want to achieve.

Create Your Treatment Plan

Based on this evaluation and assessment, your periodontist will create a suitable treatment plan for your unique issue and cosmetic goals. Your dentist would apply dental imaging techniques to create a 3D plan of the recommended changes on your gum line.

  1. The Procedure

Before this procedure, your dentist will numb the incision site using local anesthesia to ensure your comfort during the entire procedure. Then, the following steps will follow:

Gum Reshaping

Your periodontist will use specialized dentistry tools, including a dental laser, to carefully remove excess gum tissues and sculpt your gum line to the desired and aesthetically appealing shape. Fortunately, dental lasers ensure precise treatment, reduce bleeding, and allow for faster recovery after the procedure.

Gum Balancing

Your periodontist will work on straightening and harmonizing your facial features for the well-aligned smile that you deserve.

Generally speaking, the entire procedure will take two to three hours, depending on whether you received sedation medication and the number of teeth requiring treatment. Depending on the type of anesthesia used, you should find someone to drive you home after this procedure because the effects of the anesthesia can affect your driving ability even if you are an excellent driver.

  1. Recovery and Aftercare

The healing and recovery after dental contouring is quick, but proper care is vital for faster recovery. Here are tips that can accelerate the aftercare and recovery after your gum contouring procedure:

Immediate Aftercare is Vital

After the procedure, you could experience mild sensitivity and discomfort, but over-the-counter (OTC) painkillers like ibuprofen can help lessen the issue. As long as you take your medications as directed by your periodontist, the after-surgery discomfort should subside within a few days after the procedure.

Maintain Excellent Oral Hygiene

You must continue with your regular teeth brushing to keep cavities at bay, but you should be gentle when brushing the incision site. Antimicrobial mouthwash can also help keep the incision site bacteria-free for faster recovery. Another way to keep the incision site clean is by

Avoid Heavy Lifting and Exercise

If you are a fitness enthusiast, your lifestyle could change temporarily after your gum contouring procedure. After this treatment, your periodontist will recommend that you avoid heavy lifting and exercise because a higher heart rate could cause bleeding at the incision site.

Schedule a Follow-up Appointment With Your Periodontist

The periodontist could also require you to schedule frequent check-up appointments to monitor your healing process for the best results. Your dentist will tell you when to resume your regular diet because this procedure could alter your diet plans for a few weeks. Some of the advisable foods during the recovery period include the following:

  • Mashed potatoes
  • Eggs
  • Applesauce
  • Yogurt
  • Soft vegetables
  • Pudding
  • Pasta

Risks and Complications Possible After a Gum Contouring Surgery

Like any other procedure, after your gum contouring surgery, you could experience the following complications:

  • Swelling and bleeding — Minor swelling and bleeding are common after most surgeries, but it is nothing to worry about unless the bleeding persists
  • Temporary discomfort — While it could vary from one patient to the next, you could experience mild discomfort after this procedure
  • Infection — The incision site could be at risk of infection after the procedure if you fail to follow the recommended aftercare tips
  • Gum release — Your gums could start to grow after this procedure, necessitating further treatments
  • Anesthesia risks — Like any other surgical procedure where anesthesia is involved, the anesthesia your periodontist will use could cause some complications

These complications are possible after your gum contouring surgery, but they do not occur in every patient, meaning you could experience them or not.

Benefits of Gum Contouring Surgery

Gum contouring surgery has both functional and cosmetic benefits. Below are the aesthetic and functional benefits of this procedure, respectively:

Aesthetic Improvements

The aesthetic benefits of gum contouring are significant. By straightening your gum line and balancing your gum-to-tooth ratio, gum contouring can help improve your smile appearance. Aside from giving you a smile makeover, gum contouring can help boost your confidence because you will no longer feel self-conscious about your smile.

Oral Health Benefits

While the aim of most people who seek the services of a periodontist for a gum contouring procedure is to improve the aesthetic appearance of their smile, this procedure can also improve your oral and dental health. A gummy mouth creates a conducive environment for harmful bacteria to thrive. Trimming away the excess gum tissues can keep cavities at bay and improve oral and dental health.

Gum contouring can help protect the exposed tooth roots and prevent the issue's progression if you have receding gums.

Practical Considerations Before Choosing to Undergo a Gum Contouring Procedure

Before deciding to undergo a gum contouring procedure, you should consider the following crucial factors:

The Available Alternative Treatment Procedures

Gum contouring is a permanent procedure, meaning it is irreversible. Before settling for this procedure to improve your smile appearance, you should consider other alternative treatment procedures, like scaling and root planing. Scaling and root planing procedures could be ideal for a non-severe receding gum issue.

The Procedure’s Cost

The cost of a gum contouring procedure could vary, depending on several factors, including dentist experience, the severity of the issue, and the clinic location. On average, a gum contouring procedure could cost you anywhere between $400 and $3,000 per arch. Other periodontists will charge you $50 to $400 per tooth.

Unless the procedure is medically necessary to protect oral health, most insurance providers do not cover cosmetic dental procedures, including gum contouring.

The Reliability and Competency of Your Periodontist

When looking for a reliable periodontist for the gum contouring procedure, you should ensure he/she is licensed, credible, and experienced for the best services. Your friends and colleagues' recommendations can also help narrow down your options.

Frequently Asked Questions About Gum Contouring

Most people interested in gum contouring will often ask some questions before embarking on this life-changing procedure. Below are common questions most people ask about gum contouring surgery:

  1. When Can I Resume School or Work After Gum Contouring Surgery?

Most patients can return to school, work, and other daily chores after two to three days. However, your gums could take about a whole week to heal. Therefore, you should be careful with them, especially when brushing and flossing your teeth.

  1. When Should I Contact My Periodontist After a Gum Contouring Surgery?

While it is recommendable to schedule regular follow-up appointments with your periodontist to monitor the progress of the healing, you should schedule an immediate appointment with your periodontist if:

  • The bleeding persists after ten days
  • You have pus on the incision site
  • The discomfort does not alleviate after taking painkillers

  1. Does Gum Contouring Surgery Hurt?

Since your periodontist will give you local anesthesia to numb the skin around the incision site, you will not experience any discomfort during the procedure.

  1. Is Gum Contouring a Safe Procedure?

Gum contouring surgery is safe as long as you let a seasoned periodontist perform the procedure. However, some people are not excellent candidates for this procedure. Your dentist will examine your gum health and unique issues to determine whether you are an excellent candidate for the procedure.

Generally, if you have cavities or gum disease, gum contouring is not an ideal treatment for you. Even if you are an excellent candidate for the procedure, you could need additional treatments like teeth whitening, crowns, or veneers for the perfect smile makeover you deserve.

  1. What are Some of the Causes of Gum Issues?

While for some people, gum issues are often genetic, this issue could also be due to injury, periodontal diseases, and poor oral habits, like smoking, which increases the rate of gum recession.

Find a Skilled Periodontist Near Me

Whether you want to protect your oral health or improve the aesthetic appearance of your smile, gum contouring surgery is a procedure worth considering. The benefits of this procedure outweigh any possible risk or complication you could experience during and after the surgery.

We invite you to call our credible periodontists at Northridge Advanced Dentistry at 818-701-3010 if you or a loved one needs gum contouring surgery to boost his/her smile appearance or protect his/her oral health. We will keenly assess your unique case to prepare your custom treatment plan for the best results.