Crown lengthening

Functional crown lengthening

Extensively broken down or heavily filled teeth require an adequate amount of sound, natural tooth structure above the gum line to achieve a satisfactory and long lasting restoration. Functional crown lengthening involves raising a small gum flap with a small amount of hard and soft tissue removal. The procedure can expose buried margins or enough tooth structure to allow the placement of a restoration margin on sound tooth structure. Crown preparation can usually be performed two to three weeks after surgery.

Aesthetic crown lengthening

Aesthetic crown lengthening is used to treat a gummy smile or increase the length of short front teeth. In some situations, this can be achieved by means of simple gingivectomy. However, in many cases the cause of an excess display of gum is more complex and related to the length and position of the lip, the teeth and also the maxilla and alveolar bone. In most cases where there is a gummy smile, a predictable response can only be achieved by movement of the entire biological width apically. This requires the raising of a full flap and adjustment of the underlying bone.