ESTHETICIAN or Functional CROWN LENGTHENING
When smiling, if you are noticing a lot of “gums” and short teeth, this may not be the reality. Teeth may appear short while under the gums they are an appropriate longer size. This is called a gummy smile and is often the case after braces. This can also cause pseudo pocketing after braces in both the front and back teeth!. This longer tooth size may be exposed by periodontal plastic procedure called Laser Esthetic or functional Crown Lengthening. This can also be done on one single tooth if it has broken under the gum line and needs to be exposed so that your dentist can place a crown on it.
FUNCTIONAL CROWN LENGTHENING
When a tooth breaks but is still viable, or if a crown/bridge needs to be replaced, then creating extra room of length for a more retentive crown is a good idea. Often crown lengthening is needs when a cavity also extends below the gum line.
