What is Gummy smile?

It is the abnormal display of gum tissues above the upper teeth when people smile. The soft gingival tissues display abnormal, giving a short look to the teeth which affects the overall look of the smile. Though there is no distinct definition for Gummy Smile, the optimum gum visibility during a social smile should be 1 to 3 mm and for a full smile, it can be up to 5 mm. If it is above this rate, it is considered a gummy smile.

Anyhow generally one’s gum line exposure could be affected by

1. The height and shape of one’s teeth
2. The way lips move when smiling
3. The angle of the jaw compared with the rest of the face

Causes of a gummy smile

There are many reasons for gummy smile development

1. A tooth covered with more gum tissue during eruption while the tooth appears to be short.
2. Improper growth of upper jaw bone
3. Abnormal function of muscles that control the upper lip movement.

Gummy smile corrected by Orthodontics and Orthognathic surgery

A female aged 23years  Pushpa (name changed) reported at Jerush dental and facial corrective centre, with a complaint of gums open about 11mm(vertical) all along with the gummy smile. After a complete analysis, our maxillofacial surgeon decided to do orthodontic plus surgical treatment. The treatment is meant to align the maxillary and mandibular arcades ahead of bimaxillary osteotomy associated with genioplasty.  After this treatment, the 11 mm gum band has come down to 3 mm. Our surgeon purposely left this 3 mm band to let soft tissue weakening with age.

Jerush dental and facial corrective centre, is a leading dental hospital in Tamilnadu located at Thuckalay, near Nagercoil, Tamilnadu, India. You can access the place within 45 minutes travel by car from Trivandrum Airport. Nagercoil, Trivandrum, Madurai, Tirunelveli are the nearest towns to Thuckalay.