The essence of beauty is in the proportions. In classical architecture or fine art, the rule of the eye is to look for balance. The human eye is drawn to symmetry. This is also relevant when it comes to cosmetic dentistry. The color or shape of the teeth can play a role in making a smile beautiful, but the frame of the mouth is important too.
Luminous Smiles in Newport Beach gets patients who are very conscious of their appearance. They often have worries about their teeth being too small or too short, or they find their mouth somewhat childish. But in reality, their teeth are almost always normally sized. The problem is caused by the excess amount of gum tissue that covers them. This is a condition that is known as ‘gummy smile ‘.
If there’s too much gum tissue, it can cover up the beauty of your teeth and ruin the balance of your face. Luckily, this is a very correctable anatomical characteristic. Dr. Dimple Desai performs a procedure called crown lengthening that exposes the natural structure of your teeth whilst revealing its beauty.
Understanding the Gummy Smile and Facial Harmony
The Golden Ratio is a key factor in facial harmony. This is a mathematical concept related to proportions that is seen throughout nature and design. This same proportion is applied during cosmetic dentistry to the visibility of your teeth and gums when you smile.
The perfect smile features a dazzling array of white enamel and just a subtle scallop of pink gums at the top. If the gum tissue extends far down on the surface of the teeth, it disturbs this delicate ratio.
This surplus tissue can be caused by a number of factors. For instance, it can be due to the development of your jawbone and gum tissue, usually affected by genetics. Similarly, overgrowth of gums may occur as a side effect of prescribed meds. In other cases, the teeth are not fully erupted in childhood and are held back in the gum line, remaining unexposed in adulthood.
So long as the issue is the same, the aesthetics will remain the same. The smile seems to be out of proportion. The appearance of the teeth is short and not elegant. Crown lengthening is the ideal solution to this issue.
The Science of the Scallop: Precision Meets Artistry
A proper gingival contour is a work of art that requires knowledge of the anatomy of the ideal gum line. The gingival margin, instead of being straight across the teeth, should be delicately scalloped asymmetrically around each tooth.
The highest point of this scallop is called ‘gingival zenith’. To get a natural smile, the upper teeth’ zenith should be positioned slightly off center. While the height of the gums on the central incisors should be equal to the gums on the canines but slightly lower on the lateral incisors.
A master cosmetic dentist is familiar with all these different topographies and knows how to work with them when performing procedures. A general dentist may only get rid of the tissue in a straight horizontal line, giving the resulting area a flat and artificial look.
Dr. Desai is an AACD Accredited dentist and carefully plans the perfect zenith of each individual tooth prior to any work being started. She works as an architect to make sure the final frame complements the shape of the teeth and the upper lip’s dynamic motion.
The Crown Lengthening Procedure
The term “crown lengthening” may sound quite clinical, but the procedure itself is very simple and comfortable. The aim is to precisely shape the gum line to provide a well-balanced and appealing border around the teeth.
The entire procedure is done within our Newport Beach luxury clinic. With your comfort as our top priority all the way. Advanced local anesthetic methods are used to make you totally at ease and comfortable throughout the procedure.
Dr. Desai frequently utilizes cutting-edge dental lasers for aesthetic corrections when needed. The precision of laser contouring is amazing. It slowly vaporizes excess tissue whilst at the same time sealing the blood vessels. This technique has virtually no bleeding and a very quick recovery time. The majority of our patients get back to their normal daily activities as soon as they leave the clinic.
If your gummy smile is severe, a minor surgery might be needed for correction. This requires a detailed recontouring of the soft gum tissue and the underlying harder bone tissues so that you have a genuine new “floor” that will feel good and last for a lifetime. Even in these complicated cases, recovery is not difficult. Post-care instructions are provided in depth, and our caring staff is on hand to ensure you are safe and comfortable.
The Crucial Foundation for Porcelain Veneers
Often, crown lengthening is done on its own. Patients frequently are amazed at the size and appearance of their natural teeth after just one gum contouring procedure. But it can also be a necessary step before many of our full-mouth rehabilitations and custom porcelain veneer cases.
If there is an irregular gum line, or if it has grown over more of the tooth, putting an uneven veneer on it will result badly. The ceramists would be required to recreate veneers that fit in size to your existing gum line, ruining the whole point of a cosmetic makeover.
Dr. Desai does the crown lengthening first, so she is able to create the perfect canvas. She creates the ideal size and balance. After the gums have recovered to their new, ideal scalloped shape, our master ceramists can create a design of veneers with improved dimensions. A multi-disciplinary approach like this is the secret to getting a world-class and natural-looking smile makeover.
The Biological Benefits of Gingival Contouring
The cosmetic improvement of crown lengthening is undeniable but so are the many biological advantages of the procedure. Luxury in medicine is the ideal intersection of beauty and health.
Excess gum tissue forms deep pockets around the teeth. Such pockets are extremely hard to clean using the usual toothbrush and floss. Bacteria get stuck in these areas, causing inflammation and bad breath, and can ultimately lead to periodontal disease.
Crown lengthening will significantly make your teeth so much easier to manage since it will decrease the depth of these pockets. This will naturally improve your oral health. Also, it cuts down the chances of having future infections and helps maintain healthy teeth.
In addition, for cavities that are very large or those that reach below the gum line, or broken teeth near the gum line, a general dentist would simply ask to remove it. Through crown lengthening, Dr. Desai is allowed to lower the gum line and expose enough healthy tooth structure that can support a porcelain crown.
This is a very conservative way to work, and it’s a perfect fit with our biomimetic philosophy. We assess the remaining structure of a broken tooth with the use of advanced medical 3D scanning. Careful removal of the decayed material will allow us to create a custom-fit ceramic cap that will cover and protect the compromised tooth.
Only two visits are needed for the whole process. In the initial visit, we mould the area and place a custom temporary over it. While the final restoration work is delegated to our expert ceramists. They make a durable and natural-looking porcelain crown by the end of the process.
The Psychology of a Balanced Smile
The gummy smile effect has a great influence. It tends to influence a person’s social and professional attitude. Numerous of our patients confess they’ve been covering their mouth for years at business meetings because of their self-consciousness. They work to have a “tight” smile with a closed mouth in pictures so that the gum line is not visible.
It is tiring to be constantly “on your guard. It affects your executive presence and reduces your innate charisma. Real luxury is in the freedom to express ourselves with no hesitation or insecurity.
Crown lengthening changes that. Excellent gums and teeth that are professionally shaped result in brightening of the whole face. There are a lot of patients who observe an amazing surge in their self-esteem. They don’t have to concern themselves with the positioning of a camera or the breadth of their smile when presenting in public. Perhaps its most valuable benefit is this psychological freedom.
The Luminous Smiles Standard of Care
There is an art to the correction of a “gummy smile”. A careful approach is needed to correct it. You don’t want it to be carried out by a general dentist because a millimetre of material removed can amount to a very big difference in the final look.
Dr. Dimple Desai’s practice is focused on learning all these nuances in surgery. You can find assurance and a sense of safety by knowing that she is accredited through the AACD.
With Luminous Smiles in Newport Beach, you’re in the hands of a team of dental professionals who consider your smile to be an investment in your health and professional appearance. Come discover the level of confidence that can be achieved with a well-balanced smile.
Call Luminous Smiles for a Private Consultation today!
