Crown Lengthening

Crown lengthening is a procedure to increase the length of tooth visible in the mouth. This is sometimes necessary to improve aesthetics of front teeth if there is excess gum covering the teeth. By trimming away the excess gum, the visible tooth length can be increased to improve tooth appearance and smile harmony.

In other situations, a tooth will become very short due to tooth wear, decay, and repeated fillings over time. When a tooth is too short it is difficult for new fillings or crowns to hold onto the tooth. In these cases, the tooth crown is lengthened by recontouring the gum and bone to improve the restorative prognosis for the tooth.