A confident smile can do more than light up your face – it can make the entire room glow. If a prominent gum line, often called a “gummy smile” is dulling your shine, you’re in luck: a newer use for a familiar treatment can give you the toothy grin you need to brighten up the word around you.
Both celebrities and everyday folks are turning to Botox™ to help reduce visible gums and show off their pearly whites. In fact, a simple injection of Botox™ into the upper lip delivered by a board certified dermatologist is all it takes to reduce a gummy smile for up to six months.
How To Get Rid Of A Gummy Smile
The 10-minute procedure works by paralyzing the over-active “elevator” muscles in the upper lip. This reduces how much your lip rises with each smile and creates a relaxed, natural look without the ribbon of pink that gives the look of a gummy smile. Gummy smiles can have a variety of causes – ranging from small teeth to extra gum tissue to a short upper lip. Most dentists, dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons agree that a smile that shows more than a few millimeters of pink gums can start to look “gummy.”
The Botox™ injections create an alternative to a painful procedure called a gingivectomy, which is an operation to remove some of the extra gum tissue. Recovery can be quite arduous and the procedure can set you back up to $15,000 according to some sources.
Correcting a gummy smile does more than just show off your teeth with each grin; it can dramatically improve your quality of life. Some patients report feeing self-conscious about their gummy smile, which can certainly cast a dark shadow over moments of joy. Other report having experienced bullying or relentless teasing over their gummy smiles. For many, all it takes to alleviate these negative feelings is a confidence-increasing injection of Botox™.
For more information about Botox™ for gummy smiles or any other concern, consider seeing Dr. Doppelt. He is prepared to offer the solutions that only a board-certified dermatologist can provide. Give us a call at (865) 474-8800 or schedule an appointment online.
