Gummy smile, also known as gummy smile or high smile line, is a condition in which patients’ gums appear more than normal during maximum smile. In a normal maximum smile, gum visibility should be a maximum of 3 mm. This distance is usually less in men. A gummy smile, or high laugh line, can have many causes. These may include skeletal defects, delayed passive eruption (i.e. the length of the tooth is shorter than the width) or upper lip hyperactivity (the upper lip protrudes too high during smiling due to strong upper lip muscles).

This page will provide you with information about Ankara gummy smile treatment, what is gummy smile, how it is done, treatment prices, etc. You can get more detailed information by filling out the quick contact form below or read the rest of the article.

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Each cause has different treatment methods. But in general, smile design applications, orthognathic surgeries, botox applications, gingivectomy (crown lengthening) or lip repositioning surgeries (reverse vestibuloplasty – lip repositioning) are applied for gummy smile. In addition, many subtypes of gummy smile have been described in articles and studies. According to research, it can be observed only on the front teeth, only on the back teeth, on both front and back teeth or asymmetrically. It is important to treat each subtype differently.

What is Gummy Smile?

Gummy Smile Treatment is a treatment to reduce the visible part of the gums by reshaping the gums and bone tissue in patients whose gums are very visible while laughing and to give the patient an aesthetic smile.

One of the methods used in the treatment of gummy smile is botox applications. Botox is a minimally invasive treatment alternative compared to other treatment methods. At the end of the procedure, there are no complications such as pain, swelling and bruising as in other surgical alternatives. It has a short procedure time, is easy to perform and is easily tolerated by patients. For physicians, it is a subject that requires detailed knowledge and experience.

Although Botox applications often look like liquid injection into fixed points determined by research, this is not the case, especially for gummy smile treatments. A smile is a dynamic process. Your gum visibility at maximum smile or gummy smile is a snapshot of this dynamic process. Treating this dynamic process in the passive state of the lips requires considerable experience.

In addition to the fact that there are many subtypes defined by research for the gummy smile, each patient’s smile is unique. For each patient, it is necessary to correctly identify the muscles that are activated and hyperactive during laughter and apply Botox to the right muscles. As a result of botox applications to the wrong points, unwanted images after laughing or lip drop when the muscles are passive can be observed.

How is Gummy Smile Treatment Performed?

Many methods have been described in research for gummy smile treatments. Orthognathic surgeries are applied for skeletal disorders, gingivectomy or smile designs are applied for delayed passive eruption (i.e. short tooth length compared to width). In addition, lip repositioning surgeries (reverse vestibuloplasty – lip repositioning) or botox applications are successfully applied as a treatment method for the hyperactivity of the upper lip (the upper lip is raised too high due to strong upper lip muscles during laughter).

Although lip positioning surgeries are more invasive, that is, interventional procedures compared to botox applications, they are frequently preferred because the effect of botox is temporary. For lip repositioning surgeries (reverse vestibuloplasty – lip repositioning), the patient’s smile should be examined in detail and the gum appearance should be measured in detail in each tooth area.

Afterwards, the amount of tissue to be surgically removed should be calculated separately for each tooth and surgery should be performed. Although there are many techniques for lip repositioning, the most recent technique was found by a Turkish research group(tooth-based-lip repositioning technique). With the application of this technique, more precise results can be obtained with lip repositioning surgeries compared to other techniques.

In addition to lip repositioning surgeries, botox applications are also used in gummy smile treatments. Compared to surgical techniques, Botox applications are temporary and need to be repeated at certain intervals (usually 4-6 months). In addition, accurately analyzing the patient’s smile and making injections targeting the right muscles is very important for the success of the treatment.

Gummy Smile Botox recipients

Patients who have Botox for gummy smile treatment should act in line with their doctor’s recommendations for a while after the treatment. Botox applications are the process of liquid injection around the targeted muscle. The injected Botox liquid starts to show its effectiveness by being metabolized slowly over a certain period of time. In the first days, only liquid fullness is felt in the injected area, while no effect related to gummy smile is observed.

Around 7-10 days, Botox starts to show its effect and it is seen that the upper lip lifts up less during laughter. The important thing in this process is that the Botox does not spread from the targeted muscle to other muscles for any reason. The spread of Botox can cause asymmetries in the face during laughter due to the effect of Botox on unwanted muscles and consequently decreased activity in non-targeted muscles.

For this reason, patients undergoing Botox treatment are advised not to lie face down and take hot baths on the day of the procedure, not to have applications such as face masks and facial massages for 7-10 days, and not to be in high temperature and pressurized environments such as saunas, haman for 7-10 days. They are also instructed to bend minimally or pick something up with their face facing away from the floor when bending down for any reason on the trading day. After 10 days, the effect of botox application is observed. It should not be forgotten that Botox applications are temporary and should be repeated at certain intervals (usually 4-6 months).

Gummy Smile treatment

The things to be considered after gummy smile treatment vary according to the treatment performed. Patients who undergo treatment with Botox injection should pay attention to the recommendations of their physicians so that the Botox fluid does not spread from the injected area to different areas.

Since treatments other than Botox applications are surgical treatments, patients should accept that complications such as swelling, bruising and pain may occur after each surgery. If this happens, they should not be afraid but should inform their doctor. After the surgeries, patients should regularly use the medications recommended by their doctors. On the day of surgery, patients should not spit, eat or drink hot food, drink through a straw and definitely not smoke.

In addition to what has been written, the doctor who performs the procedure should explain the things to be considered for different surgeries, and it is very important for patients to strictly follow what has been explained in order to avoid problems after surgery and to reduce the risk of complications. After the restorative procedures (such as lamina, crown) to be performed for the smile design application, the care of the restorations will be explained by the doctor who performed the procedure, and it is of great importance for the patients to follow the instructions in terms of the life and long-term use of the restoration. In addition, the risk of gum disease is also reduced when patients take good care of the restorations and therefore oral care.

Gummy Smile Prices 2024

Gummy smile price 2024is in a very wide range, as can be seen from the high variety of treatments. One of the factors determining the price for Botox applications is the brand of botulinum toxin used. Botox is a brand of Allergan. In fact, the injected liquid is different brands of botulinum toxin. There are many brands preferred for botulinum toxin applications in Turkey.

Although the prices of each brand are different, many patients do not have any information about this. It is seen that there are different price tariffs for Botox, i.e. botulinum toxin applications. The most important factors affecting this price difference are the brand of botulinum toxin used and the experience of the practitioner. In addition to the fact that the brand used directly affects the treatment costs; there are also differences in terms of application fee between a dentist with relatively little experience in this field and a specialist dentist who has research and publications on this subject. It is also very difficult to determine a clear price for other treatment methods.

The application of different surgical methods, the knowledge and experience of the physicians performing these surgeries, the restorative procedures to be applied after the surgeries and the number of teeth to be applied are among the factors affecting the price. Again, whether the physician who performs restorative procedures is a prosthesis specialist or not also affects the treatment price.

What is Lip Repositioning?

Excessive gingival appearance, also known as a “gummy smile”, can be an undesirable lip appearance for some patients. Lip repositioning is a surgical technique that involves restricting the movements of the upper lip. To explain in more detail, Lip repositioning surgery reduces the traction of the lip muscle by shortening the vestibule, thereby reducing the appearance of gums when smiling. This procedure is fast and safe with minimal risk or side effects and produces a life-changing result. Those who have lip repositioning are generally very satisfied with the results and are more confident when smiling.

Sources :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4158599/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gummy_smile
http://tdb.org.tr/icerik_goster.php?Id=2902
Dt. Dr Onurcem Duruel
Uzm. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Gökçen SARGIN DURAKOĞLU

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