Aesthetic Gum Lift
Spokane Valley, WA
 If you have a gummy smile, it can make your teeth look short and stubby. Improving your smile doesn’t just mean keeping your teeth repaired and white; it also involves contouring your gums. At Serenity Dental, we can help you fix your gummy smile with an aesthetic gum lift, also known as a gingivectomy, and ensure you have a perfect smile.
What Does Aesthetic Gum Lift Involve?
At Serenity Dental, gum lift or gum contouring is a minimally invasive process that gets rid of the excess gum that encroaches upon your teeth. This procedure is performed in multiple steps:
Step 1: Examination
In the first step, we will perform a thorough examination of your mouth to determine your aesthetic requirements. We may take x-rays, images, videos and impressions of your teeth and will check your bite before moving forward.
Step 2: Planning Your Treatment
The next step is to determine your aesthetic goals. To create your new smile, we will first view the digital images of your smile on a software with all the proposed cosmetic changes. We can tweak these images to ensure your gums are according to your preferences, before we start on the surgical aspect of the treatment.
Since the images are very precise, it can help us determine the number of gum tissues that need to be removed. If only a minimal amount of gingival tissue needs to be removed, this process can be done through electrocautery that requires no stitches and results in minimal bleeding.
However, if a significant amount of gum tissue needs to be removed, you may also need to undergo crown lengthening that will involve recontouring the underlying bone.
Step3: Surgery
Before surgery, we may recommend a topical antiseptic gel to rub on your gums to eliminate bacteria and reduce the risk of infection. We will administer local anesthesia to your gums and use a pen to draw a line that will guide us on how much tissue to remove.
We will remove the excess gum with the help of a scalpel, laser surgery, electrocautery, or radiosurgery, depending on your needs.
Aesthetic Gum Lift After Care
After the surgery, you should limit your activities and rest. It can take a few weeks for your gums to heal fully and during this time, they may feel sore and swollen. We can provide you with some tips to manage discomfort and help you through the recovery period.
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We may prescribe you some over-the-counter medication like ibuprofen or paracetamol to manage pain. Do not take any aspirins as they can cause bleeding.
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Eat soft, cold, and mild-tasting food to avoid aggravating your healing gums. Food like pureed vegetables, soups, eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, and ice cream are good choices.
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Follow our guidance on how to carry oral hygiene while your gums are healing. |
Our office also offers Juvederm, which allows our patients to get hyaluronic acid fillers to enhance the gums’ appearance.
A gum lift does not just provide you aesthetic benefits but also reduces the risk of gum disease and makes it easy to install tooth restorations like dental crowns if your teeth require it. If you have a gummy smile and it is causing you aesthetic and health issues, do not hesitate to reach to us by calling us at (509) 919-1471today. |
