An application for gum "sculpting."

Treatment solutions:

1) Use gum sculpting to even out this smile.

The only treatment that's really needed here is to reposition the gum tissue on the teeth marked numbers 2, 3, and 4, so a larger portion of them is revealed.

As mentioned above, this type of procedure is often referred to as "gum sculpting." It is a surgical procedure, although a relatively minor one. Many general dentists offer this service to their patients. If not, the patient would be referred to a periodontist (gum specialist).

How much repositioning is possible?

With cases like this one where no tooth restorations are planned, the treating dentist would want to limit their surgery so it only exposes the crown portion of each tooth (the part that has a dental enamel covering). And the size and shape of the tooth labeled #1 gives a hint as to how much enamel-covered tooth structure there is to expose on the neighboring teeth.

That's because teeth are usually bilaterally symmetrical, meaning that corresponding teeth on either side of the mouth are mirror images of the each other. Since the upper right lateral incisor (#1) seems full-sized, it can be anticipated that the upper left one (#4) is too, it's just covered over more so by gum tissue. The teeth in between (#'s 2 and 3, the central incisors) are typically even larger yet.

If we're wrong on this point, gum sculpting can and should still be performed. It's just that some type of restoration (like dental crowns or possibly veneers) would need to be placed afterward so to give the teeth a normal appearance.

2) Treating the bottom teeth.

Although the lower teeth have a poor alignment, it's primarily their irregular biting edges that are the most noticeable. Just trimming these edges a little, so they are all in line (like we've shown in our "after picture"), could create the illusion of better alignment. This work could probably be accomplished painlessly, in just a few moments, using a dental drill.

Related Makeover Categories:

•  Gum Sculpting