How Do I Fix My Gummy Smile?

Hi, I’m Dr Kim Nguyen, one of the dentists here at Pitt St Dental Centre in Sydney CBD.

Last Tuesday, one of our regular patients, Sarah from Haymarket, visited us for her routine dental check-up and clean. During our consultation, she shared with me that she feels quite insecure about her smile because it was a bit gummy. She said to me, “Hey Kim, how do I fix my gummy smile?”

I walked her through the different options to make her smile less gummy. She was so excited that she booked her treatment for the following month.

For our cosmetic treatments, this is one of the most common questions we get. So I thought I’d make this short video to share with you what Sarah and I discussed.

The solution to fix a gummy smile is to identify why there is a gummy smile to begin with. There are multiple reasons why we could show too much gum on smiling.

Now, if we divide the diagnosis of a gummy smile into a skeletal problem. Often times it is those with a very short upper lip and long upper jaw. In this case, orthognathic surgery is required to reduce the height of the upper jaw to reduce the amount of gummy smile.

Sometimes a smile looks gummy because the teeth are worn down. As the teeth wear down, they become shorter, there is a spontaneous eruption of the teeth, so the gum and the teeth actually move down closer and try to meet together again. In cases like that, a gum lift procedure, usually coupled with either composite bonding, porcelain veneers or crowns, are required to fix the gummy smile.

Sometimes the gummy smile comes from the hyperactive muscles in the upper lip. If that is the case, sometimes we use neuromodulate injections such as Botox or Dysport to try to stop the upper lip from moving up too much ands hence showing less gum on smiling.

Sometimes a combination of the procedures are required. So when you have a presenting complaint of a gummy smile, what we normally recommend is to come and see us. We’ll take some records, we’ll sit down with you to show you where the gummy smile is coming from and the options that’s required to resolve the problem.

So these are some of the ways on how we fix a gummy smile here at Pitt St Dental Centre.

I hope you found this video useful. If you have a gummy smile that you’d like to fix, we would love to look after you.

Simply call us on 02 9223 4767, complete the booking form on our website, or send us a DM on social media, and we’ll be in touch to help you organise your consultation. See you soon.

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The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional personal diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your dentist or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a dental or medical condition. Never disregard professional advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read or seen on the Site.

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