Gummy Smile

[sandy29]

I'm hoping someone on here can help me.

I have a very gummy smile. It's a though my upper lip goes up too much when I laugh/smile and you can see loads of gum. i have really nice teeth and a lovely shape to my upper lip but my smile itself....I HATE it.
It really affects me and I hate getting pictures taken.

has anyone else this problem or know how to fix it? I don't think I'd like botox as it's very noticable when someone has botox.

Thanks

 

[Lil lisa]

Hi there, I'm afraid no beauty treatments or botox can change this! However, if it bothers you that much speak to your dentist. There is an operation which I believe is called a gingivectomy which involves cutting away or lasering the gums and resetting the teeth higher up. I don't know if you can keep your own teeth or if you will need to have crowns but I know it can be done. Hth x

 

[angel fingers]

i used to be very concious of this when i was younger.
over the years i have become much less aware of it and had forgotten all about it until i read your post.

i like you am lucky to have nice teeth and there is no way i would go to the extreme of the dentistry described above. it is amazing what dentists can do but i worry with cosmetic dentistry, what the results will be like a few years down the line and will it constantly need redoing, what if you dont have the money when it needs maintenace etc etc... i think if your teeth are nice they are probably best left alone.

with botox at least the effects are temporary so you could see if it suits you and i would imagine a lot less expensive.

but i just wanted to reassure you that probably a few years down the line you wont even be aware of it. i know that when i have mentioned it to other people, they have said that all they ever noticed were my nice teeth.
perhaps they were just being kind:lol:

 

[weezie]

I have exactly the same concerns as you. I am just coming round to accepting it is me that has more of a problem with it than people looking at me. I also had wonkey cross over teeth so had them straightened with invisalign last year, loads of clients said "but you don't need braces" I really did and as I already had them they weren't just being polite, they genuinely hadn't noticed (probably too busy worrying about their own hang ups).. I was offered botox by my dentist, but as it's not a permanent cure and I could end up with a droopy lip I've decided it's not for me. I forget I have it too unless I scrutinise photos of myself so now, We all need to try to focus on the possitive.:hug: you're not alone. X

 

[sandy29]

Thanks for replies. ya I only really notice it in photos but I look at other girls and all you can see when they smile are their teeth and their lips. but when I smile you can see a lot of my upper gums:cry:

I have asked dentist and a cosmetic dentist about it. It's not my gums are the problem but my upper lip goes up too much. Botoc was suggested but it's not for me, and also the part that joins your lip to your gum was suggested to loosen this so it'd be less of a pull on the lip, but my normal dentist said that wouldn't work and to leave well enough alone and nature knows best. (easier said when you don't suffer from the problem)

So I looked on line again last night and have come across this and nearly jumped out of my seat with excitment. America is so far ahead of us when it comes to any procedure and I live in Ireland so TBH I wouldn't really go on what cosmetic doctors say here in relation to anything as they just don't have the experience.

I have sent photo's of my smile over to this doctor to see what he says. I would love to talk to people who had it done first though.

I'm lucky my gums are pink and my teeth are stright and white so even though you can see a lot of gum it's very healthy and clean looking, but still, would LOVE to be photogenic. My wedding is in a few weeks and I think it's really bothering me cos' of the photos that will be taken...really dreading it :cry:


Beverly Hills Cosmetic Dentist Gummy Smile Treatment

 

[weezie]

I know this may sound crazy but how about trying to smile for pictures with less of a smile as this will disguise the gumminess. I put my toungue on the front of the roof of my mouth behind my teeth. This is what the surgery would do, reduce the amouunt you can smile. This surgery if it went wrong would disfigure your face! I did find this link that may interest you if you're determined to do it http://www.cosmeticdentistryguide.co.uk/blog/hypermobile-high-lip-line-surgery/ it seems you can't smile for two weeks after so you don't tear the stitches and they recommend botox before so you don't move your lip so much and after to maintain the effects.

 

[angel fingers]

that looks really interesting sandy, certainly had a great result on the model.

one thing i struggle understanding is if you are worried by the risk of borox, are you not worried by the risk of surgery.

 

[sandy29]

Hi again, Thanks for that link I will look at it in more detail over the next few days just heading out the door now. But it's looks promising on that site too (I got the UK dentist's site that offers this up). The surgeon in the US it never mentions botox and says healing is a week long.Maybe they use disolvable stiches, but I haven't been speaking to him yet (just sent over my pics) so I will ask him all this when I am. thanks for letting me know about the botox and healing time.

and yes I am worried about surgery, even more so, than the botox, but the surgery is done on the inside of the lip and it not plastic surgery, but the adjusting of the actual muscle to loosen it's pull. my worries would be of course changing my appearance other than just the lip but a very obvious look of surgery and two that the lip when relaxed and not smiling might look like it's falling down or drooping.I'd actually love for nobody to even notice I look different, just me know it's better you know?

The only thing that would make me more inclind to go to the US over UK is that this dr says he developed this procedure which would make me have a little more faith as he wasn't taught it, he actually teaches it. Now saying that I also need to do a lot more homework to make sure he's properly licenced, no court cases against him or dead patients etc, all the horror stories you hear of.

Part of me thinks will i leave well enough alone but then I look at the before and after pictures and I think, WOW that could be me.

I'll let ye know what happens anyway and if I was ever to go ahead I'd post up my before and after pictures.

Thanks again and thanks for not laughing at me.:hug:

 

[smooth]

Botox can help to reduce a gummy smile but you need to go to an advanced practitioner and the post above is wrong when it says it could leave you with a droop of the eyelid. You don't inject it near that area so this is impossible. If you have your crows feet, glabella or forehead injected yes you can risk this but not by treating a gummy smile.

Hope you come to a solution you are happy with