Crown Lengthening

If you have teeth that look disproportionately small among your facial features or teeth that are too short to hold crowns, you may be a candidate for crown lengthening. At Ueno Center Dental Specialists in Campbell, California, serving San Jose, Cupertino, Los Gatos and surrounding areas, the team of board-certified periodontists performs crown lengthening for functional or aesthetic purposes. To learn more about the procedure and decide if it’s right for you, call Ueno Center Dental Specialists, or book an appointment online today.

What is crown lengthening?

Crown lengthening is a procedure used to recontour your gum line to make your teeth longer by exposing more of their surface. You might need longer teeth to help crowns attach or simply because you prefer the way they look. 

During the one-hour procedure, your provider delivers a local anesthetic to the area around the targeted tooth or teeth. They cut your gums and pull them away from your teeth to reveal the roots of your teeth and some of your jawbone. 

To make the end result look as natural as possible, your provider may need to remove part of your jawbone. In many cases, the bone removal is minimal and causes minimal trauma and discomfort. Finally, they suture your gums back into place, and you can immediately see your new, longer teeth! 

When is crown lengthening necessary?

There are two main purposes for crown lengthening: functional and aesthetic. You and your provider at Ueno Center Dental Specialists should have a detailed discussion about whether crown lengthening is necessary in your case. Here are the key differences between functional and aesthetic crown lengthening:

Functional crown lengthening

Your dentist recommends functional crown lengthening if your tooth isn’t long enough to hold a crown, bridge, or filling. Lengthening your tooth helps a restoration anchor onto it with little chance of falling off. Also, if your crown is going to be too close to the bone because of a deep cavity or crack in the tooth, crown lengthening is necessary to ensure proper “biologic” health of your tooth.

Aesthetic crown lengthening

Aesthetic crown lengthening is a purely cosmetic procedure. If you show too much of your gums when you smile or if you simply think your teeth look too short, you can get crown lengthening to make your smile look more appealing.

What should I expect during recovery after crown lengthening?

You’ll see your results clearly right away after the procedure, but it takes some time to heal after crown lengthening. The team at Ueno Center Dental Specialists gives you specific aftercare instructions to follow after your crown lengthening. They may include:

• Taking pain medication as directed
• Applying an ice pack intermittently
• Eating only soft foods
• Avoiding hot foods
• Avoiding alcohol and smoking

After a week or two, you should come back to Ueno Center Dental Specialists so your provider can remove the sutures. They also check to make sure that your gums are healing well. The total healing time is about two to three months, but you’ll be back to your regular activities long before that. 

To explore crown lengthening as a cosmetic procedure or to help with your restorations, call Ueno Center Dental Specialists or book an appointment online today.

Crown Lengthening Consent