If your child’s smile seems to show more gums than teeth, this could be a condition dentists call excessive gingival display, but is commonly known as a gummy smile. The good news about a gummy smile is that it is often a cosmetic condition that does not pose serious risks to your child’s oral health, and that multiple practical and effective treatments exist.
In this blog post, we at Ironwood Pediatric Dentistry cover the topic of gummy smiles, including what causes them, their effects, and how to treat them.
If you would like to learn about options for your child with a gummy smile, please call our office at (480) 422-4544 or contact us online to speak with one of our experienced Scottsdale pediatric dentists.
What is a Gummy Smile?
A gummy smile describes what a smile looks like when too much gum tissue is visible while smiling. This usually means an excess of two to four millimeters of gum tissue. The effect of a gummy smile is to make the front teeth seem to be smaller than they really are.
A gummy smile can be classified as mild, moderate, or severe based on how much excessive gum tissue is displayed, or by underlying anatomical or muscular factors.
What Causes a Gummy Smile?
A gummy smile can be the result of any of several causes. These include:
- A short upper lip
- A bad bite
- Small or short teeth that did not fully erupt
- A hyperactive upper lip, caused by overactive upper lip muscles that contract too much when smiling
- Skeletal issues of the upper jaw being too large or sticking out too far
- Gingival hypertrophy, an overgrowth of gum tissue around the teeth
How Can You Treat a Gummy Smile?
Depending on the underlying cause of a gummy smile, several treatment options are available.
Orthodontics
If the cause of your child’s gummy smile is a bad bite, then orthodontic treatment, such as braces or clear aligners like Invisalign, can be effective in addressing the issue. Orthodontics can correct the bad bite condition and reduce the amount of gum tissue that shows when smiling, laughing, or talking.
Veneers or Crowns
In mild cases, where there is no underlying issue causing a gummy smile, veneers or crowns are good. These are non-invasive treatment options that attach to the teeth, making them appear larger in relation to the surrounding gum tissue.
Scaling and Root Planing
If inflamed or infected gums are behind a gummy smile, then a deep professional dental cleaning can reach deep into the gum pockets around each tooth. This will remove bacteria that can cause gum disease and reduce swelling and inflammation of the gum tissue, lowering gum exposure.
Gum Lift or Crown Lengthening
If excess gum tissue is the reason for a gummy smile, a gum lift or crown lengthening may be a suitable treatment option.
- A gum lift removes some of the gum tissue around the teeth, causing the gum line to be higher.
- Crown lengthening treatment restructures the gums and changes the bone around the teeth.
Lip Lowering
Contrary to the way this term sounds, lip lowering does not actually lower your child’s lip.
Instead, a small section of gum tissue under the upper lip is removed, thereby making for a shorter lip that does not rise as high as it used to. The result is to reduce the appearance of a gummy smile.
Botox Injections
Botox injections can be beneficial for hyperactive upper lips. The Botox will limit the lip’s range of movement, thereby reducing the amount of gum tissue revealed when smiling. This is a minimally invasive solution, but it requires repeated treatment at intervals of three to six months.
Laser Treatment
Laser gum contouring treatment is a precise, fast, safe, and completely painless treatment for a gummy smile. The laser removes excess gum tissue around teeth and reshapes the remaining tissue.
Lip Repositioning Surgery
If your child’s gummy smile is due to a short or overactive upper lip, then surgery on the muscles of the upper lip can be performed so that it cannot lift as high when smiling.
Jaw Surgery
Orthognathic surgery is a treatment for extreme cases, when your child’s jaw is overdeveloped or severe jaw protrusion exists. An oral surgeon will recontour and reposition the upper jaw so that it is proportionate to the lower jaw.
This treatment is often combined with braces or Invisalign treatment before and after surgery.
Does Your Child Have a Gummy Smile?
With numerous treatment options available to address a gummy smile, the treatment plan can depend heavily on the underlying cause of the condition. A pediatric dentist at Ironwood Pediatric Dentistry can diagnose a gummy smile, determine its cause, and help you choose the most appropriate treatment for your child.
Our experienced pediatric dental professionals can provide personalized, non-surgical treatment plans using orthodontic options such as braces or Invisalign, veneers, crowns, deep cleanings, and more. If more extensive surgical procedures are necessary for a permanent solution, like maxillofacial surgery, we can coordinate treatment with an experienced oral surgeon.
If you are concerned that your child may have a gummy smile and would like to explore treatment options, please call our Scottsdale pediatric dental practice at (480) 422-4544 today.