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Veneers or Gum countouring?

  • 23-06-2014 11:56am
    #1
    shermanban
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8 ✭


    I have very large gums and quite small teeth. I went to a periodontist to see if I could get some of the gum "scraped" off to show more of the tooth and make them bigger. I had read about this and I think it's called gum countouring/shaping. Anyway, the periodontist did a very short examination of my gums (3 minutes) and told me that there was very little tooth under the gum and that at most he would be able to give me an extra millimetre of tooth! I paid €80 for him to tell me there was nothing to be done?

    Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on veneers? As in can a veneer be placed above the natural tooth (over the gum) to give a bigger tooth? My teeth are straight and white, it's just that they are small and the gum/tooth ratio is awful. Are veneers an option for addressing my problem?


Comments

  • #2
    btkm8unsl0w5r4
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,535 ✭✭✭btkm8unsl0w5r4


    Sounds like crown lengthening and crowns or veneers might be better. Depends on the ammount of excess gum and the reasons for it. Without removing the gum your going to end up adding length to the teeth, and that can get horsey very quickly.


  • #3
    shermanban
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8 ✭shermanban


    But as the periodontist said, there is very little tooth under the gum, not enough to even warrant the financial cost if doing it he said. So other than adding length with veneers what can be done? Is it possible to add length upwards? (If you get me) as in cover the gum with a veneer?


  • #4
    Oral Surgeon
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,240 ✭✭✭Oral Surgeon


    Maybe get a second opinion op. if your crown/root ratio is really that bad then those teeth don't sound like good long term teeth with or without treatment!!
    shermanban wrote: »
    But as the periodontist said, there is very little tooth under the gum, not enough to even warrant the financial cost if doing it he said. So other than adding length with veneers what can be done? Is it possible to add length upwards? (If you get me) as in cover the gum with a veneer?


  • #5
    btkm8unsl0w5r4
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,535 ✭✭✭btkm8unsl0w5r4


    I think the periodontist is saying that the free gum is narrow, there is Bone close to the surface. Crown lengthening removes bone. You have a narrow deno gingival complex, common enough, needs crown lengthening,.


  • #6
    Oral Surgeon
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,240 ✭✭✭Oral Surgeon


    Kole Shapely Truck wrote: »
    I think the periodontist is saying that the free gum is narrow, there is Bone close to the surface. Crown lengthening removes bone. You have a narrow deno gingival complex, common enough, needs crown lengthening,.

    Yeah maybe that's it....
    Op if this is the case and your "hard gum" beside the teeth is thin then yes, a gingivectomy (removal of gum) is bad but a crown lengthening procedure ( lift the gum, shape and remove a small band of bone and replace the gum) may be ok....

    Again, second opinion....


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  • #7
    shermanban
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8 ✭shermanban


    Ok I'm going to get a second opinion and I've booked in with a different guy for next week for a consultation. I don't think I'm allowed name names on this (I'm new) but he has BDent Sc, MSD Prosthodontics after his name. Think I'm going to the right kind of guy? He uses laser treatments to re-contour gums and lenghten crowns. €125 just for a consultation so I hope he will be able to do something for me! Anyone know how much the procedure should cost? I hope to get the top 8-10 teeth done.


  • #8
    Oral Surgeon
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,240 ✭✭✭Oral Surgeon


    Laser gum removal may not be what you need as we have guessed!!
    shermanban wrote: »
    Ok I'm going to get a second opinion and I've booked in with a different guy for next week for a consultation. I don't think I'm allowed name names on this (I'm new) but he has BDent Sc, MSD Prosthodontics after his name. Think I'm going to the right kind of guy? He uses laser treatments to re-contour gums and lenghten crowns. €125 just for a consultation so I hope he will be able to do something for me! Anyone know how much the procedure should cost? I hope to get the top 8-10 teeth done.


  • #9
    btkm8unsl0w5r4
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,535 ✭✭✭btkm8unsl0w5r4


    shermanban wrote: »
    Ok I'm going to get a second opinion and I've booked in with a different guy for next week for a consultation. I don't think I'm allowed name names on this (I'm new) but he has BDent Sc, MSD Prosthodontics after his name. Think I'm going to the right kind of guy? He uses laser treatments to re-contour gums and lenghten crowns. €125 just for a consultation so I hope he will be able to do something for me! Anyone know how much the procedure should cost? I hope to get the top 8-10 teeth done.

    He will be able to give you your options alright, I know to whom you are referring.

    Some people have a gummy smile because their teeth are a normal size but their gums cover a large portion of the teeth. For these people some gum recontouring can work. However if the gums are a normal length, its the teeth that are short or the jawbone is long. Removing gum for these peoples doesn't fix the problem.


  • #10
    tooth_doc
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 129 ✭✭tooth_doc


    agree with all the above and no laser contouring may not solve the problem as it only addresses the soft tissue part of the problem and it is not the ideal solution, you probably as the colleagues here said need osseous crown lengthening i.e bone might also have to be contoured to get you the result, but without seeing you , all these comments are partly guesswork :-)


  • #11
    shermanban
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8 ✭shermanban


    Kole Shapely Truck wrote: »
    He will be able to give you your options alright, I know to whom you are referring.

    Some people have a gummy smile because their teeth are a normal size but their gums cover a large portion of the teeth. For these people some gum recontouring can work. However if the gums are a normal length, its the teeth that are short or the jawbone is long. Removing gum for these peoples doesn't fix the problem.

    So I went to him today, and I can't recommend him enough. Besides being endearing, he spent about 1 hour and a half examining and discussing options. Turns out I'm not a candidate for gum contouring or even crown lengthening . He was much more concerned with my jaw and the fact that I have a hyperactive upper lip so that when I smile it moves up too far and shows too much gum. One of the options he asked me to consider is Botox (odd I know). He says that 3 or 4 rounds of it spaced 4 or 5 months apart , injected into above my lip, would weaken the hyperactive upper lip and therefore when I smile I would show less gum. Has anyone ever heard if this procedure? I'm a guy and only 22 so I'm a bit skeptical of going down that road but after a bit of research it's been done quite a lot. Any thoughts? He also said that he wouldn't recommend veneers given that I have quite good (if a bit small) teeth.


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