HOW MUCH GUM TISSUE SHOULD YOU SHOW WHEN YOU SMILE?
Good question! There have been a lot of studies on how much of your gums should be displayed when you smile. Research has revealed that most people consider a smile more esthetic if the person shows the full length of their upper teeth and up to 4mm of gum tissue at full smile.
But everyone is unique. As I’m sure you are aware, some people show more and have a very attractive smile, and for other patients, it is their chief concern. At your first visit and continually throughout your treatment we will discuss treatment progress and goals.
You may want to refer to our smile design page and the results page, which further discusses how I tailor each patient’s treatment to address your concerns and obtain the most esthetic and functional result.
There are different treatment modalities to address gummy smiles-most not involving surgery. Below, you will see patients that had gum tissue display addressed via (1) growth with phase I treatment, others simply had improvement with proper orthodontic treatment, (3) some utilizing non-surgical TADs, and (4) some involving jaw surgery.
– Dr. John DiGiovanni
Many people feel self-conscious about smiling because they believe their gums are too prominent. If your smile looks gummy to you, it’s important to figure out exactly what’s causing this. Gummy smiles can be caused by one or more factors relating to the gums themselves, the teeth (overbite), the lip length, how much your lip elevates when you smile, or the upper jaw position. Each of these areas will require a different approach to solving the problem.
GUMMY SMILE TRANSFORMATIONS (before and after results)
Following are some examples of how dramatically gum tissue display can be altered with orthodontic diagnosis and treatment. Pay special attention to the gum tissue and tooth display before and after treatment with Dr. DiGiovanni:
Gummy Smile addressed with Tads and Braces
Phase i treatment utilizing passive eruption
braces and tads
braces and jaw surgery
tads and braces
braces, gum surgery and veneers
braces, jaw surgery and cosmetic dentistry
braces and jaw surgery
invisalign to expand and decrease gum tissue display
example of "TADS" in above photo and removed in lower photo
“TADs” are small temporary/removable implants that enable Dr. DiGiovanni to provide treatment to avoid jaw surgery or eliminate implants or extractions.
TADs are very small, easily placed, and removed – all with minimal discomfort.
