Improve Your Smile with Our Crown Lengthening Procedure
At Portal Cypress Dentistry, we offer crown lengthening procedure to enhance the health of your gum tissue. The procedure also helps to prepare your mouth for other procedures and corrects a gummy smile.
During a crown lengthening procedure, our periodontist will expose more of your natural teeth to give you a broader, more confident smile. The periodontist will also reshape excess gum and bone tissues.
What is Crown Lengthening?
Crown lengthening is a dental surgery done by an experienced periodontist to expose the greater part of your tooth. The procedure can also be done when excess gum covers a bigger part of your teeth, bone tissue, or both.
During the procedure, we remove gum tissue and bone around your tooth to expose the covered tooth. The procedure can be done on a single tooth, several teeth, or an entire gum line.
The procedure is also necessary in case you have a tooth that needs repair or treatment, but it doesn’t protrude enough.
Purpose of Crown Lengthening
The crown lengthening procedure is done to improve the aesthetics of your gum line. When done, more of your teeth will be exposed through adjustment of the gum and bone level.
Below are some other reasons why you may need crown lengthening:
Restoring your damaged teeth
Periodontal disease, decay, and trauma may severely damage your teeth. Crown lengthening helps to restore and fix short, severe decayed, fractured, or broken teeth beneath the gum line. Through the procedure, your bone and gum are adjusted to accessible levels for easy restoration of your damaged tooth.
Your risk of tooth decay reduces
Having excess gum tissues makes your teeth look shorter. Moreover, you will be susceptible to periodontal infections.
Removing excess gum tissue creates a balance between your teeth and gums. This, in turn, reduces your risk of tooth decay since more teeth will be exposed to brushing and flossing.
Restores your smile
Lowering the gum tissue level gives you a beautiful and confident smile.
Support filling or dental crown
After a crown lengthening procedure, the space between the dental crown and supporting jawbone increases. This prevents your gum tissues and bone from being damaged by a new crown.
Who Should Undergo Crown Lengthening?
Are you fit for the crown lengthening procedure? If any of the following apply to you, then visit our dental team at Portal Cypress Dentistry for a full diagnosis and advice:
- Your teeth appear shorter due to gum and bone tissue obscuring their upper half
- You broke your tooth below the gum line
- You have excessive gum tissue and a history of frequent tooth decay
- You require a specific dental procedure, like extraction, filling, or dental crowning, and your short teeth make accessing the damaged or decayed tooth difficult
How is Crown Lengthening Done?
When you visit Portal Cypress Dentistry, you’ll first undergo an x-ray and oral examination. We’ll also review your medical history to determine whether you are a good candidate for crown lengthening. We’ll ask you for details of past and present dental problems, current medical conditions, and allergies to medications.
To make you comfortable during the crown lengthening procedure, we’ll administer anesthesia to your jawbone, tooth, and surrounding tissue. Our periodontist will make a series of small incisions to expose and reshape your gum tissue. In some cases, we may remove some bone around the root of your tooth.
You’ll then be washed and sutured to close the surgical site. We’ll cover the surgical area with special dressing to prevent infection during healing.
After the surgery, you’ll receive instructions on post-care directions.
The crown lengthening procedure takes about one hour and is performed during an outpatient visit. The duration of the surgery depends on the number of teeth we’ll treat. Even if a single tooth is involved, we’ll reshape the neighboring teeth tissues to provide you with a natural look.
Crown lengthening may take longer if we have to remove both the soft tissue and bone. Immediately after the surgery, you’ll notice your tooth is longer.
How to Prepare for Crown Lengthening
In the initial appointment, our periodontist will discuss with you why you need the crown lengthening procedure, and address any concerns. You’ll also be advised on the medications to take and the ones to discontinue, based on your medical history.
Before the surgery, we’ll fit you with a temporary crown. The crown will protect your tooth and make it easier to perform the procedure.
Recovery Processes
After the procedure, you’ll recover in approximately three months. You’ll need to visit our periodontist after 7 to 10 days to remove the non-absorbed sutures. You’ll also need to come for a follow-up visit after 4 to 6 weeks to ensure your wound isn’t infected.
Avoid engaging in strenuous activities in the first 2-3 days after the procedure. Physically demanding jobs, heavy exertion, and heavy lifting can hinder the healing process.
Other guidelines to follow for successful recovery include:
Swelling and pain management
You’ll use ice packs for the first few hours after surgery to reduce swelling. Apply the ice packs in 20 minutes cycles of gentle pressure. You may also use moist heat a few days after surgery.
You should also sleep on a thick pillow at night to avoid swelling. Our periodontist may prescribe antibiotics and painkillers. Make sure you complete the prescriptions as directed
Diet
You should drink 8 to 10 glasses of water every day. Avoid cold, spicy, hard, acidic, and highly seasoned food. You should avoid hot foods in the first 24 hours after the surgery.
Don’t take nuts and small seeds. Eat soft food during the recovery period and keep the food away from the surgical area while eating.
Avoid using straws during the healing process and refrain from taking alcohol until after the post-surgical appointment. Also, avoid smoking for the first 7 to 10 days or even longer. Alcohol and smoking slow the healing process.
Dressing
You’ll need to leave your surgical mouth dressing for 7-14 days. The dressing may be replaced once or twice during this period. Don’t remove the prescribed denture or stent for 24 hours.
Avoid rolling your tongue or touching the surgical area, and don’t cause pressure by pulling down your lips to view the surgical area.
Cleaning
Gently brush the biting surface where the dressing was applied using a soft bristle brush. Remove stuck food particles carefully using a toothpick or wash irrigators.
Avoid using mouthwash for the first 6 hours after dental surgery, and don’t rinse your mouth for 12 hours. After 12 hours, rinse your mouth with lukewarm saltwater. You may also use antiseptic mouthwash before bedtime and in the morning.
When to Contact the Clinic after Surgery
Contact us if you experience any of the following conditions:
- Severe pain that can’t be relieved by prescribed painkillers
- Symptoms of an allergic reaction
- Excessive bleeding that won’t go away
- The bandage becomes loose and falls
- You notice tender swollen lumps beneath your lower jaw on the neck
- Marked swelling or discharge from the surgical area
Crown lengthening makes your teeth look longer and minimizes the visible gum. At Portal Cypress Dentistry, we carry out crown lengthening procedures for improved dental care, medical reasons, and cosmetic effects. The procedure transforms your smile and improves your confidence.