When Is Crown Lengthening Necessary?

Has your Palm Harbor dentist recently told you that you’ll need crown lengthening during one of your appointments? Then you’re probably wondering why you need it and how the procedure works.

Crown lengthening is a procedure used to expose more of the natural tooth by reshaping the gum line. It can be useful to treat many conditions or even as a prepping method to increase the success rate of other restorations.

Keep reading to find out when crown lengthening is truly necessary! 

How Does Crown Lengthening Work?

It’s a fairly simple procedure, yet many patients feel weary about crown lengthening. Learning how it works can go a long way toward reducing your anxiety about it.

First, the gums are numbed with a local anesthetic to ensure you don’t feel any pain. A dentist will use special surgical instruments to trim the gums until your teeth reach the desired length. 

Most crown lengthenings are done in around one hour, but the recovery will take more time. You’ll likely need OTC pain medication to manage discomfort for a few days, but the symptoms should subside rather quickly.

In general, patients will fully heal from this procedure in around two weeks. You may need to re-visit your dentist after the surgery for a follow-up to make sure your gums are healing properly.

When Do You Need Crown Lengthening?

Crown lengthening could be recommended for any of the following cases:

• Fixing "gummy smiles": A gummy smile means a large part of your gums is exposed every time you smile. While this doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with your oral health, it is an aesthetic concern for some patients. Crown lengthening can help elongate your teeth and reduce the appearance of a gummy smile.

• Tooth damage below the gums: Dental damage can sometimes occur below the gum line. This includes fractures and even cavities. In these cases, crown lengthening is necessary in order to expose the damage and treat the tooth.

• A dental crown or bridge placement: These dental appliances need a certain amount of tooth; otherwise, they won’t be properly cemented and could fall off. If you had a large cavity or the tooth was very damaged, it could have lost a lot of tissue. In these cases, crown lengthening is used as a preparation procedure to increase the success rate of the dental crown or bridge placement.

‍Crown Lengthening in Palm Harbor: Request a Visit Today

Whether you want to fix a gummy smile or have been told you can’t get a dental crown because of insufficient tooth tissue, Dr. Saimon Ramos is here to help! 

Find out if crown lengthening is right for you by requesting a visit to the Bow Tie Dentist today.

If you want to learn more about our services, call our office at (727) 789-1212, and we’d be happy to answer all your questions.