Cosmetic & Smile Care
Gum Contouring in Jenkintown, PA
Reshaping the frame, not the teeth.
Sometimes the teeth are fine and it is the gumline that is not – uneven, sitting low over the teeth, or showing more than you would like when you smile. Gum contouring adjusts that margin so the teeth in front of it read the way they actually are.
Exceptional care for a lifetime of healthy smiles
The short answer
Gum contouring at MVP Family Dental
Cosmetic gum reshaping to correct an uneven gumline, reduce excess gum tissue, and create a more balanced, proportionate smile.
A tooth reads as short when the gum covers more of it than it does on the tooth next door. Nothing is wrong with the tooth; the frame around it is uneven. Contouring adjusts the level and shape of that frame.
The result is judged against the whole smile rather than one tooth – the line the gum margins make together, and how that line sits against the lip when you smile. That is the thing being designed.
What it addresses
Three different complaints
People arrive with quite different versions of the same underlying issue, and the assessment differs for each.
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An uneven gumline
One or two teeth sit under more gum than their neighbors, so they read as shorter or crooked.
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A gummy smile
More gum shows on smiling than you would like. The cause can be the gum, the lip or the jaw, and that changes the answer.
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Teeth that look short
The crown is largely there, but covered – contouring exposes more of the tooth that already exists.
Before anything is reshaped
Working out the cause
Contouring only solves a gum-level problem. Assessment comes first because several different things produce a similar-looking smile.
- Gum positionWhere the margin sits relative to the crown of each tooth, and how even that line is.
- Bone levelThe bone under the gum sets a limit on where the margin can be placed and held.
- Lip movementHow far the lip travels on a full smile – a very mobile lip can produce a gummy smile with normal gums.
- Tooth proportionWhether the teeth are genuinely short or simply covered, which decides whether contouring alone is enough.
How treatment works
Planned, then reshaped
The design is agreed before anything is altered, because gum tissue that has been removed is not straightforward to put back.
- Consultation and assessmentWe look at the gum margins, the bone underneath, your lip line and the proportions of the teeth.
- Designing the new lineThe intended margin is planned across the whole smile, not tooth by tooth, and agreed with you.
- ReshapingThe tissue is contoured to that line under local anesthetic.
- Healing reviewThe gum settles over the following weeks and is reviewed, since the final margin is the healed one.
Is it right for you
When contouring is the answer
Healthy gums come first. Contouring is a cosmetic procedure performed on stable tissue, so any active gum disease is treated before it is considered.
It also works best as part of a plan rather than in isolation. Where the teeth themselves need reshaping or whitening, sequencing the gum work correctly within that plan matters as much as the contouring itself.
- Healthy gums firstActive gum disease is treated before any cosmetic reshaping.
- Whole-smile designThe new margin is planned across the smile line, not one tooth at a time.
- Healed resultThe margin is reviewed after healing, since that is the line you keep.
Worth bringing to the consultation
- A photograph of your own smile that shows what bothers you.
- Whether it is the gum, the teeth or both that you want changed.
- Any history of gum treatment or gum disease.
- Whether whitening, bonding or veneers are also under consideration.
While it heals
Gentle, and clean
The reshaped area is kept clean but treated gently while it settles. Your dentist will give you specific instructions for your case, including what to eat and how to brush around the area in the first days.
The margin you see immediately afterwards is not the final one. Gum tissue continues to settle for some weeks, which is why the result is assessed at a review rather than on the day.
A smile is read as a whole. Often the line that needs adjusting is not on a tooth at all.
MVP Family Dental · Jenkintown, PA
Gum Contouring Questions
- What is gum contouring?
- Reshaping the gum margin around one or more teeth so the gumline is even and the teeth in front of it show in better proportion.
- Is it painful?
- It is carried out under local anesthetic, so the procedure itself is not painful. Your dentist will explain what to expect while the area heals.
- Will my teeth look longer?
- Where the crown is already there under the gum, exposing more of it makes the tooth read longer. The assessment establishes whether that is the case for your teeth.
- Does the gum grow back?
- Contoured tissue is not expected to return to its original level, which is why the design is agreed carefully before anything is reshaped.
- Can it fix a gummy smile?
- Sometimes. A gummy smile can come from the gum level, from a very mobile lip, or from the jaw, and only the first is treated by contouring. That is what the assessment establishes.
- Do I need healthy gums first?
- Yes. Any active gum disease is treated before cosmetic reshaping is considered.
- How long before I see the final result?
- The tissue settles over some weeks, so the result is reviewed after healing rather than judged on the day of treatment.
- How do I find out if it suits my case?
- Book a consultation at our Jenkintown office. A photo of your own smile showing what bothers you is the most useful thing to bring.
Dr. Vineetha Thomas, D.M.D.
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Dr. Priya Mathew, D.M.D.
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