Why Do People Have Gummy Smiles? Can An Orthodontist Fix a Gummy Smile?
A bright smile can work wonders to open new avenues on personal and professional fronts. The teeth help to chew food properly and to speak distinctly. Without teeth, words can slur inside the mouth. With age, the teeth lose their natural strength and vitality.
Teeth can become discolored or orthodontic issues might lead to misaligned teeth. Modern dentistry has advanced dramatically to ensure that even orthodontic issues are addressed effectively. one such orthodontic issue that can affect your smile is the gummy smile.
What is Gummy Smile?
A gummy smile can be a huge embarrassment and insecurity while you smile. As the name suggests, a gummy smile displays too much gum while smiling. A gummy smile is more of a perception, and it can be surprising that there isn’t a specific definition for a gummy smile.
Different studies and surveys have been performed to determine what people consider a gummy smile. As revealed from the surveys, the most attractive smile is those with two millimeters or less of gum shown above the teeth.
A gummy smile is an excessive gingival display. Gummy smiles affect women more than men, and the ratio can be 14 percent women and 7 percent men affected by gummy smiles. Typically displaying 3 to 4 millimeters of gum above the teeth can be considered a gummy smile, and various factors can lead to this. A gummy smile can be treated, and an orthodontist near you can evaluate the state of your oral cavity and treat it accordingly.
Reasons for Gummy Smiles
There are several conditions that lead to gummy smiles. They can be listed as:
Genetic Causes
Gummy smiles can be inherited or ancestral. Gummy smiles may pass on like big gums or little teeth or a shorter upper lip that can cause gummy smiles to expose more gums while smiling.
This Gingival Phenotype
The thick gingival phenotype is also known as thick gum and is a phenomenon when you have thick gums that cover much of your teeth, making the teeth appear small. The teeth might also have erupted improperly and can be partially covered by the gums. This exposes more gum while smiling, causing a gummy smile.
Gingival Hypertrophy
This phenomenon is enlargement or inflammation of the gums caused by chronic trauma to the teeth and gums by clenching teeth, biting nails, or improper brushing technique. This results in exposure of tender and red gums while smiling, resulting in a gummy smile.
Vertical Maxillary Excess
This is the condition of overgrowth of the gums in which the upper jaw is excessively large, and the teeth become too small. This, in turn, makes the lips appear larger, and you can experience difficulties in closing the mouth completely. The oversized gums are displayed while smiling, causing gummy lips.
How Orthodontist Fixes Gummy Smile
Orthodontic treatment is a good option to treat a gummy smile if caused by an improper bite or jaw issues. Through orthodontic treatment, you can get rid of the discomfort and pain caused by the underlying issues and achieve the aesthetic value offered by the treatment.
The correction of misaligned teeth can reveal fewer gums and reduce the chances of a gummy smile. Braces and orthodontic treatments can often fix the gummy smile without opting for expensive, invasive surgeries or Botox treatment.
A jaw or orthodontic surgery is needed in extreme cases when the jaws are overdeveloped or protrusion of jaws. The oral surgeon, the maxillofacial surgeon, or a dentist in Waterford, MI, can recounter the upper jaw to make it proportionate with the lower jaws and reduce the chances of gummy smiles.
The maxillofacial surgeon might also reposition the lips so that too much of the gums are not revealed while smiling. This is performed 1under the influence of general anesthesia, and orthodontic surgery is needed in addition to jaw surgery.
The Waterford Dentist can be the dental clinic to get orthodontic treatments for treating gummy smiles. You may book an appointment here and avail of family-oriented comprehensive oral care from experienced dentists. Larry Ratz and Dr. Kurt Heuerman are known to provide top-notch dental care.