Nothing is more beautiful and appealing than an unposed natural smile. The bright appeal of a smile adds more beauty to your facial esthetic and gives you more ability to be more friendly, attractive, and happy. However, some people put their hands over their mouths hiding their smiles. suffering that their smile shows too much of their gum line and that is what is called a gummy smile.
That’s why solving excessive gingival display (Gummy smile) is considered a cosmetic treatment to achieve the perfect confident smile, balance, and correct teeth function. At Sauve Clinic, we can help you bring your smile to the ultimate beauty that suits you and satisfies your needs.
What Is A Gummy Smile?
A gummy smile or Excessive gingival display, is a significant portion of more than 3mm of your gums visible when you smile in the socially posed smile and confirmed by the exaggerated spontaneous smile, this is the medical definition.
However it’s very subjective according to how you see your smile with different facial expressions; like in exaggerated laugh, wide smile, or posing smile.
How Do You Know If You Have A Gummy Smile?
This puts us in a great dilemma, as every smile is considered a gummy smile or gingival smile, but with research and tests, orthodontists and periodontists found that the appearance of gum when smiling from 1mm to 2mm and even up 3mm from the teeth line to the upper lip line, is the ideal amount of gingival display and considered more attractive and natural than no showing gum at all (0 mm gum display).
Showing gums greater than 3mm while smiling is considered unpleasant and unattractive by unanimous agreement. And this is the most prominent criterion of A Gummy Smile.
What Causes A Gummy Smile?
Gummy smile causes are multifactorial and not so easy to spot one cause without a better professional diagnosis by a cosmetic dentist.
- Short upper lip
This causes a gingival display, maybe even in a resting position with no smiling at all. - Upper lip over-contraction during smile
As hyperactive upper lip muscle contracts and moves up higher than the normal range it exposes more gum tissue. - Teeth not fully erupted
The front teeth surface is covered with gingival tissue due to “Passive Eruption” when gums cover more tooth enamel than usual. - Overdeveloped upper jaw
This is a genetic factor causing vertical maxillary excess development and excessive gum display as a sequence and creates a disproportionate gum-to-tooth ratio. - Malformed teeth or tooth problem
Short small teeth are genetic factors related to Dental Developmental Anomalies, or excessive tooth wear which exaggerates the gingival display. - Taking certain medication
Some medications cause overgrowth and hyperplasia of the gingival tissue resulting in a gummy smile
According to these causes, you can see “A Gummy Smile” from your perspective could be only an excessive gingival tissue display but the underlying real cause is very different, that’s why diagnosis by professionals is a must for the correct proper treatment.
How is Gummy Smile diagnosed at Sauve Clinic?
We at Sauve Clinics stick to the cosmetics and facial esthetics guidelines, so the diagnosis of a gummy smile may require a full-time session of a thorough examination, including:
- Clinical Evaluation:
- Assess gum-to-tooth ratio.
- Periodontal Examination: check for inflammation or overgrowth of gum tissue.
- Smile Line Assessment:
- Measure the symmetry of the smile lines according to the smile design system
- Analyze how much gum is visible when smiling naturally
- Digital Smile Design (DSD): Advanced tools can map out the proportion of the smile and simulate treatment outcomes.
- Photography: Getting documented pictures of the patient’s face while resting position, voluntary posed smile position, and naturally spontaneous smile. (even if we gonna tell them jokes)
- X-rays and CBCT Scans: Used to determine jaw alignment, tooth eruption, and bone structure.
- Discuss the patient’s expectations.
Better proper diagnosis drives us to the proper treatment that satisfies the patient’s need and ends up with the best outcomes. At Sauve Clinic, we offer advanced, affordable gummy smile treatments tailored to your needs. With recent digital smile design systems, materials and technologies, and highly skilled professional cosmetic dentists, we provide:
- Free Comprehensive evaluations to diagnose the root cause.
- Free Customized treatment plans for lasting, esthetically pleasing results.
Gummy Smile Treatment plan
Depending on the cause, several treatment options for a gummy smile range from non-invasive to surgical:
- Hyaluronic Acid Injections or Botulinum Toxin (Botox) Injections
They are non-invasive cosmetic procedures indicated for patients suffering from Hyperactive or hyper-mobile upper lip, this treatment will reduce or prevent upper lip overmobility in cases of excessive and mild gingival display. - Lip Repositioning Surgery
It’s a surgical intervention in the soft tissue of the muscles of the upper lip, indicated for patients suffering from mild to moderate vertical maxillary excess growth, and/or hypermobile upper lip, it’s also indicated for patients with short upper lip.
Its Idea is to reduce the labial vestibule vertically and suture the upper lip lower than its normal position and closer to the gingiva of the front teeth.
It can be performed using a scalpel, laser, or electrocautery. - Gingivectomy (Gum Contouring)
It’s a surgical intervention Procedure but less invasive than lip repositioning surgery, it’s indicated for patients with gingival hyperplasia (overgrowth of the gingiva due to genetic or medicaments), and cases with passive eruption of the teeth that are covered by gingival tissue, this surgery removes excess gum tissue using a laser or scalpel and also could encounter removal of excessive osseous bony shards while the procedure of crown lengthening. - Corrective and Orthodontic Treatments
They indicated for patients with mild to moderate VME (vertical maxillary excess) or dentoalveolar extrusion of the front teeth that cause a sequence overgrowth of the gingival tissue.
The Orthodontic treatment aligns teeth and modifies jaw positioning using braces or aligners, and may require Temporary Anchorage Devices (TADs) to gradually intrude the overerupted teeth into their position. This treatment is minimally invasive correction of gum-to-tooth ratio that may require mini screws to be inserted into the jawbone, and orthodontic forces are applied over some time. - Orthognathic Surgery
It’s the most advanced surgical intervention treatment plan, indicated for patients with severe vertical maxillary excess or combined skeletal discrepancies, and must be done by skilled dental surgeons as it requires hospitalization. This treatment is very invasive as it replaces the entire maxillary bone position with another one which results in less gingival display.
Gummy Smile Treatment Price
The cost of gummy smile treatments in Istanbul varies depending on the type of procedure chosen, the invasiveness of the procedure, and the complexity of the treatment. We at Sauve Clinic have personalized offers and discounts according to treatment procedures. The gummy smile treatment price depends on the patient’s needs, however, the treatment cost starts at 150$. Patients are advised to consult with us to understand their unique treatment plans and confirm pricing.
What Are The Disadvantages of Gummy Smile?
A gummy smile is subjective and it’s not typically harmful as it impacts the aesthetics and psychological concerns of the patient more than physical harm to the oral tissue for the following reasons:
- It causes esthetic concerns as the patient feels less appealing and less confident with the uneven smile.
- Psychological issues with confidence, and less the patient may suffer being introverted.
- People with gummy smiles often feel judged or embarrassed in social and professional settings, potentially affecting interpersonal relationships and job opportunities.
- In severe cases where the gums are overly exposed, they may be more susceptible to irritation, trauma, or periodontal diseases.
- Maintaining proper hygiene might be slightly challenging in cases of excessive gingival tissue, increasing the risk of plaque accumulation.
Gummy Smile FAQs
What Would Happen If I Didn’t Treat The Gingival Display?
A Gummy Smile is not a health-related condition, except the excessive gingival display due to skeletal reasons, or excessive gingival overgrowth which increases the risk of plaque accumulation, these conditions are unhealthy and need dentist consultation.
Are Gummy Smiles Attractive?
Attractiveness is subjective; the feelings, the psyche, and the vision of the recipient can affect a lot. Some find Gummy smiles very appealing and natural, others see it as an imperfection and tend to admire even symmetry smiles. Cultural perceptions and personal preferences play significant roles.
Does Gummy Smile Botox Affect Speech?
Temporarily paralyzes muscles that elevate the lip, minimizing gum exposure so it may affect speech to an extent.
How Rare Is A Gummy Smile?
Gummy smiles are relatively common, affecting about 10–15% of the population, with a higher prevalence in women than men.
Do Gummy Smiles Go Away?
Gummy smiles typically do not resolve naturally unless caused by temporary factors like swelling from orthodontic treatments, side effects of certain medications, hormones, or trauma, and we discussed the permanent ways for gummy smile treatment.
What Is The Opposite Of A Gummy Smile?
Teeth smile (no appearance of gum when smiling) due to longer upper lip, shorter teeth, or Gum recession where the roots of the teeth are visible due to the falling back of the gingival line towards the jaw bone exposing the teeth roots causing serious health consequences.
Can Mewing Fix A Gummy Smile?
Mewing is about positioning the tongue on the roof of the mouth in a normal resting position, not on the floor of the mouth, and not related to Gummy Smile treatment by any chance.
- Brizuela, M., & Ines, D. (2023, March 19). Excessive gingival display. StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470437/
- Dym, H., & Pierre, R. (2020). Diagnosis and treatment approaches to a “Gummy smile.” Dental Clinics of North America, 64(2), 341–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cden.2019.12.003
- Ramesh, A., Vellayappan, R., Ravi, S., & Gurumoorthy, K. (2019). Esthetic lip repositioning: A cosmetic approach for correction of gummy smile – A case series. Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology, 23(3), 290. https://doi.org/10.4103/jisp.jisp_548_18
- What to know about a gummy smile. (2020, June 15). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/gummy-smile#bottom-line
- Monaco, A., Streni, O., Marci, M. C., Marzo, G., Gatto, R., & Giannoni, M. (2005). Gummy smile: clinical parameters useful for diagnosis and therapeutical approach. Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry, 29(1), 19–25. https://doi.org/10.17796/jcpd.29.1.y01l3r4m06q3k2x0
