Smile Better With the Help of a Simple Gum Lift

The gums are an often-ignored part of the mouth; a disadvantage for they can seriously affect how your smile looks. This is where getting a gum lift comes in.

Gum lifts, or “crown lengthening” as it is officially called, is a procedure that removes excess gum tissue and reshapes our gum line. Though it may seem that it is only done for aesthetic purposes, there are a couple of reasons why you’d need gum lifts. First is when damaged teeth need repairs; some of the damage that teeth sustain can be found below the gum line, and a gum lift is often done in preparation of fixing that damage. The second reason for a required gum lift is when your dentist is planning to install dental crowns; it will provide space between the crown and your gums, helping to avoid any damage to them.

The gum lift process is actually quite simple. Local anesthesia is applied to the gums that will receive the treatment. Incisions are then done to the gum tissue to separate them from the teeth. In the past, the removal was done manually and required sutures to stop the bleeding, leading to several weeks of healing. Today’s dentists, however, have access to nonsurgical lasers that cauterize the wounds quickly, leading to little or no bleeding and minimal recovery time. Follow it with a day or two of pain relievers and your gums will look and feel great.