Crown Lengthening

Unlike gum recession where too much of a tooth can be exposed, some individuals have too much 'gum' and not enough 'tooth'. Crown lengthening is a surgical procedure performed by our periodontist at their Porstmouth, NH office. The procedure involves exposing greater amounts of your tooth structure by reshaping excess gum tissue.

A crown lengthening procedure is often a required in preparing your tooth for a dental crown.Dental crown lengthening involves the removal of gum tissue, bone or both to expose more of a tooth's structure. Often there isn't enough tooth structure left above the gum line to support a dental crown. If a dental crown is placed improperly, it may cause chronic inflammation and irritation of the gum tissue, or make the tooth more susceptible to decay. In the most severe cases, tooth decay may damage the underside of the dental crown, and you may lose the tooth completely.Crown lengthening can help to prevent these complications.

Crown lengthening can also be performed for cosmetic appearances. If your teeth appear short, crown lengthening may help expose the true length of your tooth and reduce the ‘gummy’ appearance of your smile

Procedure

During the dental crown lengthening procedure, excess gum and bone tissue is reshaped to expose more of the natural tooth by removing gum and/or bone. This can be done to one tooth or several teeth at once.