Crown Lengthening

Your smile says a lot about you. When most people think of a beautiful smile, the focus tends to be on the appearance of the teeth. While your teeth are a crucial component in the quality of your smile, they are only one factor. Your gums also play an important role. No matter how perfect your teeth are, excess gum tissue can significantly decrease its beauty, as well as affect your confidence. If you have excess gum tissue, leaving you with a gummy smile, your teeth appear small, almost like baby teeth. At Anchorage Dental Associates, we can eliminate excess gum tissue, enhancing the beauty of your smile, with a crown lengthening.

What is Crown Lengthening?

When you have excess gum tissue, you are left with what is often referred to as a gummy smile. This type of smile causes your teeth to appear small, even if they are perfect. A crown lengthening is a cosmetic treatment that we offer to correct the appearance of a gummy smile, leaving you with a natural gum line and greatly enhancing the appearance of your smile. Depending upon your needs, we may also need to remove a small portion of bone to help provide you with optimal results, giving you a smile that you have always dreamed of.

How is Crown Lengthening Done?

Advances in dental technology have allowed us to perform crown lengthening with a laser, rather than a scalpel. While scalpels are effective, they can result in a significant amount of bleeding, as well as pain and swelling during the recovery process. Lasers use a concentrated beam of light, set to a specific wavelength, to remove unwanted tissue. The laser cauterizes as it cuts, helping to limit the amount of bleeding you experience during treatment. It also provides pinpoint accuracy, Not only does this allow us to remove only the necessary amount of tissue, but it also helps to greatly reduce tissue trauma, reducing pain and swelling following your treatment.

Your crown lengthening is performed under a local anesthetic, which helps to ensure your comfort during treatment. Small incisions are made in your gums, and the laser is used to remove the necessary soft tissue. It can also be used to remove a small portion of bone if necessary. Once your treatment is complete, your gums are sutured back against your teeth. Results are noticeable immediately and improve as you heal.

Other Uses for Crown Lengthening

While a crown lengthening is generally used as a cosmetic treatment, the procedure does have a few functional purposes as well. Common functional uses for crown lengthening include

•	Placing dental crowns. Crowns are used to treat damaged teeth. To provide optimal protection, they need to encase the entire crown of your natural tooth. Excess gum tissue can prevent your crown from fitting properly. Removing this tissue allows your crown to fit properly and provide optimal protection.
•	Treating cavities near the gum line. A cavity at the gum line can be more difficult to treat. There may be decay under the gum line, or the cavity may not be filled. By removing a small amount of gum tissue, we can effectively eliminate all decay and fill the cavity to restore your oral health.
•	Improving periodontal health. Excess gum tissue can harbor plaque and bacteria and can be difficult to keep completely clean. This can increase your risk of developing periodontal disease. By removing excess gum tissue, we help to improve your periodontal health, lowering your risk for periodontal disease and other oral health complications.

A crown lengthening can eliminate excess gum tissue and provide you with a natural, healthy gum line. This can help to greatly improve the beauty of your smile and boost your confidence. For more information, and to schedule your consultation, call Anchorage Dental Associates at (907) 885-3666 today.

Anchorage Dental Associates's accepts Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, United Concordia Dental, Delta Dental, Aetna, Moba Health, Cigna, Tricare and Medicaid insurance providers

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