Crown lengthening is used to keep the gums around a crown healthy. The gums drape around a tooth and protect the tooth and bone that holds the tooth in the mouth. The gums bond to the tooth surface and this bond prevents food from getting stuck between the tooth and gums. The gums need at least two millimeters of tooth to attach to in order to be effective in preventing food from trapping under the gums, otherwise serious problems can develop.

          Sometimes part of a tooth will crack off so that the 2 mm for the gums to bond is not available. Crown lengthening surgery is needed. Another reason that the needed 2 mm might not be available is when a tooth decays and after removing the decay, the dentist finds that there is less than 2 mm of tooth left above the bone. This procedure is used to recreate this needed amount of exposed tooth.

          The patient is numbed and an incision is made around the tooth needing crown lengthening. The gum tissue is gently peeled away from the tooth to show the supporting bone holding the tooth in place. Now the dentist can see that there is not two millimeters of tooth available to stick to. In the procedure the dentist removes several millimeters of bone around the tooth to expose the tooth that was previously underneath the bone. After the dentist is sure there is two millimeters or more of tooth sticking out of the bone, the gums are replaced and stitched carefully back in place. The surgery is now complete. The gums are allowed to heal six weeks and a crown can then be constructed,

          Sometimes a patient has a gummy smile that hides the beautiful teeth underneath the gums. This procedure can be used to shape the gums to create a more beautiful smile. In most cases the gums only need to be shaped enough to match the amount of teeth shown in that patient's smile. If you are interested in speaking crown lengthening make an appointment with our senior Georgia Cosmetic Dentist, Dr. Mark Allan Padolsky at 404-874-7428.