Treatment Options

Esthetic Gingival Recontouring

Improving your Peridontal Health and Maximizing Your Potential. Permanent teeth erupt until they contact opposing teeth. Once this contact is made and tooth position is established, the gum continues to move down, exposing more of the tooth until reaching the junction of the crown and root. This movement is why permanent teeth seem to get longer as children pass through adolescence.

In some instances, tissue does not move down the permanent tooth as it should. While we do not know the cause of this phenomenon, the result is the presence of excess gum over the crowns of the teeth, and is called incomplete passive eruption. This excess gum does not match to the enamel of the tooth crown, and results in a potential gum pocket which may trap bacteria and lead to periodontal problems.

In addition to potential periodontal health problems, incomplete passive eruption results in an unnatural, short tooth appearance, and a gummy smile.

Fortunately, incomplete passive eruption is easily treated by gently reshaping the gum and the bone surrounding the teeth to position the gum at a more natural and esthetic level. Following such treatment the gum pockets are eliminated, the gum is placed where the crown and the root met, and esthetics is dramatically improved.

Bonding was placed on the front teeth without first eliminating the incomplete passive eruption. Note the short unnatural appearance of the bonded teeth.