What is Crown Lengthening and How Could it Improve Your Smile?

Crown lengthening is a dental procedure which is sometimes performed to make the gum-line appear straighter, or to reveal more of a tooth in order to allow a prosthetic to be added.

What Does Crown Lengthening Involve?

While the name of the procedure suggests that it involves lengthening the actual crown of the tooth, this is not the case. Crown lengthening involves removing excess gum tissue in order to reveal more of the tooth underneath. Many people have a “gummy smile”, where their teeth appear to be rather short. This may be because while their teeth are the normal length, they are hidden behind excess gum tissue.

Who Can Have Crown Lengthening?

Crown lengthening is suitable for any adult who has healthy gum tissue, and who needs to have some of a tooth revealed, either for cosmetic reasons, or to add a crown.

Is Crown Lengthening a Complex Procedure?

Crown lengthening usually takes about an hour, and can be done as an outpatient procedure. If you are having other work done on your teeth, then the crown lengthening may be performed at the same time in order to reduce the number of appointments required.

Since crown lengthening requires cutting gum tissue, it is important that you practice good dental hygiene, and that your gums are in good health before it is done. After the procedure you will be advised to keep your mouth clean, rinse it out with saltwater if your gums bleed, and avoid certain foods until the gums have healed.

Do The Gums Grow Back after Crown Lengthening?

After the procedure, your gums will heal and they may grow back slightly. Because of this risk, if you are having crown lengthening in order to place a prosthetic, the dentist will want to wait for a few months after performing the procedure before putting the prosthetic in place.

Can I Book a Crown Lengthening Procedure?

If you are interested in crown lengthening, we recommend that you book a consultation with us to discuss your needs. Our dental experts would be happy to discuss your oral health with you, and will tell you if they believe that you would be a good candidate for crown lengthening or some other procedure. It may be that you could have a prosthetic fitted without needing to have a crown lengthening treatment first, to that you do need crown lengthening, but that other treatments are required first. We always put your dental health first.