Crown Lengthening

Functional Crown Lengthening

Periodontal procedures are available to lay the groundwork for restorative and cosmetic dentistry and/or to improve the aesthetic appearance of your tooth and gum architecture. Your teeth may actually be the proper length, but they could be covered with too much gum tissue. Crown lengthening is a procedure to correct this condition. During this procedure, excess gum and occasionally bone is re-shaped to expose more of the natural tooth. This can be done to one tooth to even your gum line, or to several teeth to expose a natural, broad smile.

Crown lengthening can also make a restorative or cosmetic dental procedure possible. Perhaps your tooth is decayed, broken below the gum line, or has insufficient tooth structure visible to place a restoration, such as a crown or bridge. Crown lengthening "pushes down" the gum and bone level to expose more of the tooth so it can be restored, and allow better oral hygiene. Trying to restore broken-down teeth without crown lengthening usually produces a filling, crown or bridge with a poor seal, creates a chronic gum inflammation, and ultimately results in unnecessary early restoration failure or tooth loss.