Crown lengthening is a surgical procedure that uses a laser to re-contour the gum tissue. Crown lengthening can be performed on "gummy" smiles or when a tooth needs a crown but there is not enough healthy tooth above the gums.

For smiles that seem to have more gum tissue than tooth, most people's gums can be reduced to lengthen the tooth and achieve a "fuller" tooth smile. This is done by contouring and reducing the gums above each tooth so that your overall gum line is higher. Gum contouring is an easy way to dramatically change a gummy smile.

When getting a crown on a tooth, crown lengthening provides necessary space between the supporting bone and crown, which overall aids in crown retention. Usually, only a small portion of gum is removed so that your overall gum line is not disturbed. Not every tooth that receives a crown needs crown lengthening.

Call Dr. Elliott's Office today at 281-534-7112 and ask how the technology of lasers can help shed any unwanted gum from your smile.

There are many celebrities that have either "gummy" smiles or "toothy" smiles. In fact, there are many celebrities that once had gummy smiles and now have toothy smiles. Can you name 3?