I Have a Gummy Smile: Can You Help?
Jun 04, 2025
Your ideal smile probably has more teeth than gums, so what do you do when your gums dominate? Called excessive gingival display, you likely know the condition as a gummy smile.
At Llanos Dental Group, Dr. Laura Llanos and her team can help you when your tooth-to-gum ratio is one-sided. We offer gum contouring as part of our smile design services. If you have a gummy smile, here’s how we can help.
There’s really nothing you could have done to prevent a gummy smile. Usually defined as showing more than three millimeters of gum tissue when you smile, a gummy smile is often a result of genetics or a response to other conditions.
If exposed gums run in your family, your case is probably a simple matter of genetic predisposition. Other reasons behind a gummy smile include:
Usually, there’s no medical issue caused by a gummy smile, though gum contouring might be part of your treatment for severe cases of periodontal disease.
When exposed gums present a cosmetic issue for your smile, there’s no reason to grin and bear it! Gum contouring removes excess gum tissue to create the effect of longer teeth and shorter gums, balancing your smile’s appearance better.
First, you’ll discuss your goals for treatment with Dr. Llanos so you’ll know what to expect and have the chance to learn about other options you might have. We’ll also do a complete exam to ensure you have no lingering oral health conditions, like cavities or gingivitis, to clear up first.
Then, we’ll plan our approach, noting how much gum tissue must be removed to create the desired effect. Sometimes, small amounts of bone might be removed from the jaw to prevent gum regrowth.
Your gum contouring procedure is performed using local anesthetics, and if you request, we can add sedation to help keep you comfortable.
The procedure itself typically follows a sequence that includes:
Depending on the number of teeth treated and the extent of the contouring, your procedure will take less than two hours.
After your anesthetic wears off, you may experience mild discomfort. We recommend over-the-counter medications to help you stay comfortable.
Your recovery should last about a week. Based on your situation, we’ll give you specific expectations and guidelines.
Visit Llanos Dental Group to learn more about gum contouring for a gummy smile. Call or click to book an appointment at our Miami Lakes, Florida, office today.