Gummy smile treatment in Telford, millimetres at a time
Sometimes the teeth are fine and the frame around them is the problem. Laser gum contouring and crown lengthening even out a gum line or reduce how much gum shows, planned as part of the smile rather than separately.
It is not always the teeth
A surprising number of people who come in unhappy with their front teeth have perfectly good teeth. What is bothering them is the frame. A gum line that sits lower on one tooth than its neighbour, teeth that look short and square because the gum covers more of them than it should, or a smile that shows a band of gum above the teeth.
It is worth knowing this before you spend anything, because veneering teeth to correct a problem that is actually about the gum line produces a result that never quite looks right. The proportions are still wrong, they are just wrong in more expensive material.
What is actually causing it
Four things produce a gummy or uneven smile, and they need different treatments, which is why the assessment matters more here than the treatment does.
The gum sits lower than it should on otherwise normal-length teeth
The teeth are genuinely short, so the proportions are off even with a normal gum level
The bone underneath sits high, which is what makes gum grow back after simple contouring
The upper lip moves a long way when you smile
Laser gum contouring
For soft tissue, where the gum level is the issue and the bone underneath is where it should be. Cameron uses a laser, under local anaesthetic, to reshape the gum line so the teeth show the proportions they should. It is quick, bleeding is minimal, and healing is generally faster and more comfortable than the older surgical approach.
The honest limitation is important. If the reason the gum sits low is the bone underneath, contouring the soft tissue alone will improve things for a while and then the gum will come back. That is not a failure of the treatment, it is the wrong treatment, and it is why the assessment comes first.
Request a consultationSurgical crown lengthening
Where the bone level is the underlying cause, or where more tooth needs to be exposed so that a crown or restoration has something to hold onto, crown lengthening reshapes the bone as well as the gum. It is a more involved procedure with a longer healing period, and Cameron carries it out in collaboration with a periodontist rather than alone.
It is also frequently the step that makes restorative work possible. A tooth broken down close to the gum line often cannot be crowned properly until there is enough tooth showing to work with.
What to expect afterwards
The same day
Some tenderness once the anaesthetic wears off, usually managed with ordinary painkillers. Most people go back to work.
The first week
The gum settles. Soft foods and gentle brushing around the area, with specific instructions from Cameron.
A few weeks in
The gum line matures and takes its final shape. This is why any restorative work waits rather than being done immediately.
Then the teeth
Once the frame has settled, any bonding or veneers are made to the new proportions.
What gum treatment costs in Telford
This depends on how many teeth are involved and whether your case needs soft tissue contouring alone or crown lengthening with a periodontist. Every from-price sits on one page, and both consultation fees come off your treatment.
See prices and finance
Meet your cosmetic dentist, Dr Cameron Bagry
Cameron is a cosmetic and restorative dentist in Telford. He holds a postgraduate diploma in cosmetic and restorative dentistry and a diploma in minimally invasive dentistry, and Totally Composite, one of the UK’s most respected bonding courses, asked him to be a clinical tutor teaching the technique to other dentists.
He plans every case himself, and seven of the nurses at his own practice have chosen to be treated by him, which is the review he is proudest of. He will also tell you when a smaller plan, or no treatment at all, is the better answer.
The questions patients actually ask about gum treatment
If your question isn’t here, no worries. Ring treatment coordinator Ellie or fill in our contact form and send us a question.
It is done under local anaesthetic, so you should not feel the procedure itself. Afterwards there is usually some tenderness for a few days, and most people manage with ordinary painkillers. Laser contouring tends to be more comfortable and to heal faster than the older surgical method.
If the treatment matched the cause, no. If soft tissue is contoured when the real problem is the bone level underneath, then yes, it can come back, which is exactly why the assessment matters and why crown lengthening exists as a separate treatment.
Soft tissue contouring settles within a couple of weeks for most people. Crown lengthening involving the bone takes longer, and any restorative work is deliberately delayed until the gum line has matured and taken its final shape.
That is what the planning is for. The design works to proportions that suit your face, and on bigger cases you can see the intended result before anything happens. One to two millimetres is usually all it takes, and the aim is teeth that look normal rather than teeth that look lengthened.
When the treatment matches the cause, yes, the new gum line is stable. Keeping your gums healthy afterwards matters, because gum disease will change the gum line regardless of what has been done to it.
Planned together, yes, but not on the same day. The gum has to settle into its final position before the teeth are restored to the new proportions, otherwise the finished work is made to a gum line that is still moving.
Start with a conversation, not a drill
Leave your number and treatment coordinator Ellie rings you back. Between you, you work out what you actually need, and nothing is booked until you want it to be.