A gum lift is a cosmetic dental procedure that reduces the amount of gums covering the upper front teeth. This raises and sculpts the gumline making the teeth appear longer and the gums more even and symmetrical. Symmetry and proper proportion are very important elements of a beautiful smile.

This is a relatively easy and ideal treatment for patients who complain of a "gummy" smile. As the teeth erupt in early adolescence, the appearance of our teeth gradually changes from "little chicklet teeth" to slightly longer, better proportioned, "adult looking teeth." When this natural change fails to happen in development, beautiful teeth are sometimes simply hidden under gums that are too thick or too long.

"You can whiten and straighten your teeth, but if your gums are too big and uneven, and your teeth look too small for your face, you are wasting your money, because you still don't have the smile you wanted," said April P., a gum lift patient in Dr. Loshin's practice.

The gum lift procedure is similar to gum shortening (tooth or crown lengthening) procedures that have been used in periodontics for many years when treating gum disease or other conditions. Sometimes only a small crescent of gum tissue need be removed with either a laser, radiosurgery or conventional surgery. Sometimes it is also necessary to reshape the underlying bone to achieve a healthy, esthetic result. The basic principles are not new. What is new, is the emphasis on ideal, beautiful cosmetic appearance and the trend toward the use of gum lift as an elective cosmetic procedure.

Although periodontists (gum specialists) are well versed in the principles of crown lengthening/ gum shortening, there is an advantage to having an experienced cosmetic general dentist do this procedure if he or she is also doing other restorative cosmetic work. In this way the one dentist has complete cosmetic control over all the elements necessary to create that great smile.

Dr. Loshin is very experienced with gum lifts as well as other gum surgery procedures, having done hundreds of successful cases over the last 25 years.

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