Periodontal cosmetic surgery at Farber Center on Long Island can remove excess gum tissue and reshape the gum line. The procedure is often fast and easy.
Am I a Candidate for Periodontal Cosmetic Surgery?
For some people, as their teeth grow into their mouth, excess gum tissue grows along with the teeth. In other words, not everyone has a gum line that stabilizes when it should. For some teenage and adult patients, it looks as if they still have baby teeth because they have excess gum tissue covering their adult teeth. In this case, a cosmetic periodontal procedure is one where we reshape the gum line to expose the full adult tooth to give the patient a much more natural and even gum line. Sometimes a patient appears to have very small teeth, dental implants can help.
Many times during adolescence, especially if the patients have undergone orthodontic treatment, there is excess gum tissue that is covering half of their adult tooth, and once the excess gum tissue is removed the adult tooth is now exposed giving the appearance of a normal adult tooth. It is not a case of having small teeth; it is a matter of having too much gum tissue covering the normal-sized teeth.
What Can I Expect?
Our periodontists complete the procedures fairly quickly without much chair time but with a dramatic result. However, each procedure is unique.
Occasionally orthodontic treatment worsens this problem of too much gum tissue. As the teeth are shifted and placed into proper alignment, the gum line shifts along with the teeth. Many times children who have braces, unfortunately, do not take as good care of their teeth as they should, and the gum overgrows in response to the extra bacteria that is in the plaque around the teeth.
Many times because there is only excess gum tissue without other dental concerns to address, we can remove the excess gum tissue in a short visit with no stitches required. Within two weeks the gum line is almost 100% healed and the patient has a beautiful smile. This is an excellent outcome.
Dr. Vasiliki Batalias
Periodontist
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