By Wendy Gould
Got gums that open up too wide when you laugh or smile?
In a world of greater acceptance for diversity and inclusiveness, a little imperfection here and there would be widely accepted and are not anymore a source of ridicule — in many parts of the world, that is.
These days, the greater cause for concern over gums showing too much is when it gets in the way of you achieving your personal beauty and image goals. Then, you have to fix a gummy smile.
You probably haven’t noticed how several Gummy smile celebrities have had a similar beauty problem fixed, making them wear tight, gum-free wide smiles now than back when they were still not a regular fixture on your home and theater screens.
Nicole Kidman, Gwen Stefani, Victoria Beckham, Kate Beckinsale, and husband and wife, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner all once had gummy smiles as a common denominator.
So, just where did those gummy smiles go?
What Is Gummy Smile?
What Is Gummy Smile? – Image/Shutterstock
Before moving on to the ways to fix a gummy smile, options which these top celebrities came to know about, sought, and conquered for some time now, what is a gummy smile anyway?
You’ll never believe how raw and largely subjective the perception and the general discussion around gummy smiles can be.
Despite concerns over those gums showing too much, nobody has ever offered up a widely accepted definition of what makes for a gummy smile.
Except, there seems to be a general consensus that that’s when too much of the gums are showing when you open your mouth wide.
How big is too big?
Some say that people begin to notice gummy smiles when the gums open up to above 2 millimeters on top of your teeth when you open your mouth to smile.
To fix a gummy smile, therefore, this gap needs to be addressed.
Although other causes of too much gums showing may also include any other disproportionate growth of your gums, teeth, lips, and jaws.
What’s a gummy smile anyway? In fact, there is no consensus on the definition.
For the sake of a functional understanding, however, experts say, most people are said to start noticing a gummy smile when the gums show more than 2 millimeters above the top of teeth.
Gummy smile causes range from small teeth, gums that are too big, to shorter than the normal upper lips.
Causes of Gummy Smile
Based on estimates, more women than men suffer from excessive gum display, with figures showing that 14 percent of women and 7 percent of men are born with a gummy smile condition.
The causes of gummy smiles always involve some disproportion in your lips, jaw, gums, and teeth.
Unless perhaps caused by an injury or a condition that causes a malalignment of bones, jaws, or even the weakening of muscles around these parts, a gummy smile is largely hereditary and present since birth.
Below are just some of the most common causes of too many gums being shown when you smile:
- Gingival hypertrophy, is a condition where your gums are too long or large.
- Vertical maxillary excess, is a condition that develops when your jaw develops beyond its proper proportion, causing more of your gums to show.
- Altered Passive Eruption of teeth, a condition where the teeth remain covered in soft tissue and therefore only partially show the teeth.
- An upper lip that is physiologically too short to cover your gum area.
This said, there are no remedies that can suffice to fix a gummy smile.
Although there are several treatment options that you should take a look at and seriously consider if your confidence is hanging by a thread because of all that gum showing.
Gummy Smile Treatments
Gummy Smile Treatments – Image/Shutterstock
Considering the probable involvement of the lips, jaw, gums, and teeth, a gummy smile treatment will normally involve a series of adjustments to give you just the right kind of wide when you open up your mouth to smile.
Listed below are several of the best options that you can have a look at and seriously consider if you are seeking the most suitable treatment and correction options to say goodbye to your gummy smile:
1. Botox
Yes, it has been used countless times for the correction of wrinkles and fine lines.
Just recently, too, Botox has proven to be a viable option for the correction of a gummy smile and there’s even a well-documented case to prove the efficacy of Botox in relieving gummy smile.
The upside is that the results are delivered in an instant without downtime.
The downside is that you need to keep coming back for treatment every 3 or 4 months to touch up.
How much does it cost to get a gum lift?
With Botox, the lowest price is currently at the US $350, which is relatively cheap for a gummy smile treatment.
However, this procedure may only be suitable for almost negligible to moderate cases of gummy smiles that involve the upper lip.
2. Gum Gingivectomy or Gum Recontouring
This next treatment option involves cutting through the excess portion of your gums using a scalpel or laser.
This physically removes a portion of your gums.
The downside is that the procedure may have to be repeated again as there is always a possibility that the excess gum area may regenerate and go back to its original size.
3. Vertical Maxilliary Impaction.
This is another way to fix a gummy smile that involves jaw surgery.
The jaw is moved higher to move the teeth and gums upwards, keeping most of that gum hidden under the hood of your upper lip.
The downside is that this procedure will require too much surgical and very invasive treatment that will cause longer downtime.
You may have to file for a vacation leave when you elect this procedure.
4. Surgical Lip Repositioning
This procedure involves surgically moving the lips to be at a proper proportion with the rest of the face.
This procedure normally involves only the upper lip and is used in cases when the lower half of the mouth is in proper proportion.
In some cases, the procedure may be combined with tooth impaction or correction as well to perfect your smile line.
5. Crown Lengthening
This gummy smile correction procedure is the most appropriate course of treatment when the cause of too many gums showing is partially impacted tooth.
Through this procedure, your specialist will cut through gums and bones to show more of your teeth, and by the end of the procedure, show the proper proportion of your teeth to gum.
6. Use of Orthodontics Solutions
One of the easiest but, not exactly the cheapest in this list of ‘how to fix a gummy smile treatment options is wearing crowns and braces to correct your bite and reposition your teeth and gums.
There are many possibilities with this course of treatment.
When surgery, for you, is not an option, anchorage devices such as those used in braces can be used to clip your teeth to your upper lip so that when you smile, your gums remain under the hood of your upper lip.
Additional Reminders Before Getting Your Gummy Smile Treated
There are several practical things that you need to consider before investing your time, effort, and money to fix a gummy smile.
The most important of which are:
- Who Are You Seeing?
You have to do a background check on your specialist.
You have to go beyond how your doctor or dental clinic is being branded or, advertised.
Talk to former patients if you have to. Even if you have a family member or, a friend who has been a patient of a particular specialist before, just don’t take their word for it.
When it comes to gummy smile treatment, the landscape of specialists is not all coming from the same field.
For instance, setting up braces will require an orthodontic, impacting tooth will have you see a dentist, and a botox will be administered by a dermatologist.
Keep in mind that diagnosis is key because every case of a gummy smile will require a unique procedure or combination of procedures.
- How Much Is Your Budget?
Getting that gummy smile fixed doesn’t come cheap.
As you know, even a botox at the US $350 per treatment will redound to thousands of dollars when you think about the periodic re-touches you will have to undergo in the future.
Consider that your health insurance coverage includes and don’t be shy to ask your doctor if that is a possible option.
- How Long Do You Have To Heal?
Some procedures let you walk out smiling the smile you’ve always wanted while some will leave scars that need to heal.
Make sure that you file for leave for more invasive procedures.
FAQ’s:
Que: How to get rid of gummy smile naturally?
Ans: The Following 4 exercise helps to get rid of gummy smile naturally.
- Massaging the wings of the nose down along the corners of the mouth using the index finger. Continue for 30 seconds.
- Next, hold the lips for 10 seconds. This exercise will help the lip muscles to cover more gums.
- Keep smiling. First, smile. Then, close your mouth. Next, open your mouth slightly. By doing so, the teeth will cover the gums. Hold for a minute. In case, if your smile still doesn’t cover the gums, press them with your fingers.
- Suck on the cheeks. By doing so, your mouth will look like a fish’s mouth. Hold for 30 seconds. This exercise will help in stretching the muscles around your cheeks and fix the smile.
Que: What is the Gummy smile correction cost?
Ans: It can range from as little as $300 to upwards of $8,000 depending on what treatment option you choose.
Que: How to fix gummy smile with braces?
Ans: Braces are an effective method for treating gummy smiles due to a bad bite. Over time, your teeth are slowly repositioned to an ideal, symmetrical bite with braces.
Conclusion
Stop asking yourself, “How can I keep my gums from showing when I smile?”
Quite frankly, there are no quick remedies but, there are treatment options that take little time for you to see your perfect smile.
You can fake a smile but, there’s no acceptable quick fix to a gummy smile other than an actual treatment.
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