Gum Contouring

[Alasdair]

Hello

Due to neglect for many years, most of my teeth are stained and worn down and my gums are also very uneven and inflamed as well, mainly because for many years I did not know I had to floss between my teeth and clean my gums.

I have decided to have a smile makeover consisting of four or six dental veneers and some gum contouring to make my gums more even looking.

Could you tell me if gum contouring is usually successful or not. How is gum contouring carried out? Does gum contouring have any risks associated with it?

If I did have dental veneers without gum contouring would it still look good and is gum contouring a painful procedure?

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Hi

Thank you for your post. Gum contouring is a procedure where some soft tissue and occasionally some bone is removed to re-contour the soft tissues into a more aesthetically pleasing contour.

The procedure can be carried out with a laser or a blade and its success varies depending on the underlying cause, the extent of the gum recontouring and the skill of the surgeon.

Gum contouring can cause the underlying teeth to become more sensitive because by removing soft tissue and bone, the root of the teeth can become exposed and the exposed root dentine may become more sensitive to various stimuli.

Sometimes despite gum contouring, the soft tissue regrows back to its original position. This is especially seen with patients on certain medication that cause gingival hypertrophy. The procedure may have to be repeated if this happens.

Without seeing you, I cant tell you if your veneers would look good without gum contouring. Generally speaking if you have a high lip line and expose your gum margin when you smile, you will probably benefit from gum contouring if you have a very uneven gum line.