You smile in the mirror, but instead of feeling confident, you’re distracted by how much of your gums are showing. Maybe you’ve heard comments like “you have a big smile,” or you’ve started smiling less in photos to hide it. A “gummy smile,” when excessive gum tissue is visible above your top teeth, can make your teeth look smaller or uneven, even if they’re perfectly healthy.
At MR Dental Aesthetics in Beverly Hills, Dr. Mahnaz Rashti offers advanced, personalized solutions to correct a gummy smile and restore balance to your facial aesthetics. As a board-certified periodontist with over 30 years of experience, Dr. Rashti blends surgical precision with aesthetic expertise. Below, we describe the most effective treatments for gummy smiles and how Dr. Rashti can help you choose the best one for your unique smile.
Gingivectomy removes excess gum tissue
A common cause of a gummy smile is excessive gum tissue that covers too much of your teeth, making them appear shorter or hidden. This can disrupt the balance between your teeth and lips, especially when smiling. If your teeth are otherwise healthy but look small or underexposed, the issue often lies in overgrown or uneven gum coverage.
A gingivectomy involves surgically removing the excess gum tissue to reveal more of your natural tooth structure. Dr. Rashti performs this precise procedure using advanced instruments under local anesthesia to ensure comfort. She carefully sculpts the gumline to create an even, proportionate look that enhances your smile. The results can be striking.
Lip repositioning surgery lowers the upper lip
In some cases, your gums may appear more prominent not because of the gums themselves, but because of a hypermobile upper lip. When the lip lifts too high while smiling, it can expose an excessive portion of the gumline, creating a “gummy” appearance.
Lip repositioning surgery addresses this issue by modifying the muscles that control upper lip movement. During the procedure, Dr. Rashti makes a small incision on the inside of the upper lip and repositions it slightly lower. This restricts how far the lip rises when you smile, resulting in a more balanced, less gummy look.
Gum contouring reshapes the gum line
An uneven gumline can disrupt your smile’s harmony, even if the amount of gum showing isn’t excessive. You might notice that some teeth look longer than others or that your smile lacks symmetry. In these cases, gentle gum reshaping is often all that’s needed.
Dr. Rashti uses cutting-edge laser technology to carefully sculpt the gumline without surgery. The laser precisely removes tiny amounts of tissue to refine the contour of your gums. Because the laser also seals blood vessels as it works, there’s minimal bleeding, swelling, or discomfort. The results are immediate, and this procedure is often paired with veneers for comprehensive aesthetic enhancement.
Botox injections temporarily weaken lip muscles
If your gummy smile is due to an overactive upper lip that rises too much when you smile, Botox offers a simple, non-surgical solution. When the lip elevates too far, it can expose more tissue than is aesthetically ideal, even if your teeth and gums are structurally healthy.
Dr. Rashti strategically injects small amounts of Botox into the muscles that control upper lip movement. This relaxes the muscles just enough to limit how high the lip lifts when you smile. The treatment takes just a few minutes, and the results begin to show within a few days and last 3 to 4 months. It’s an excellent option if you want a temporary preview of more permanent surgical results.
Porcelain veneers cover teeth to improve proportion
Sometimes the root of a gummy smile lies in the teeth themselves. If your teeth are naturally short, worn down, or not proportional to your gums, it can make your gums appear prominent. Even with a normal gumline, the visual imbalance between tooth length and gum exposure can affect the aesthetics of your smile.
Porcelain veneers solve this by enhancing the visible size and shape of your teeth. These thin ceramic shells are bonded to the front of your teeth to create a more proportionate, symmetrical appearance. Dr. Rashti designs each veneer with precision, often combining this treatment with gum contouring or a gingivectomy to achieve ideal results. The effect is a longer, brighter smile that draws attention away from the gums and toward your beautifully reshaped teeth.
Dental implants replace missing teeth
Missing teeth, especially in the upper jaw, can dramatically affect the aesthetics of your gumline. Gaps or bone loss in the area may cause uneven gum contours or make existing gums appear more prominent. This can contribute to a gummy smile, even if your teeth are in good condition.
Dental implants restore structure and appearance by replacing missing teeth and stabilizing the surrounding gum and bone. Dr. Rashti is a specialist in full-mouth reconstruction and implant placement, and she ensures precise alignment and natural aesthetics. For enhanced results, she may combine implants with soft tissue grafting or gum recontouring. This creates a more balanced gumline, improves smile symmetry, and restores full function to your bite.
Why you must choose a periodontist for gummy smile correction
A periodontist is a dental specialist who focuses on the gums, bone, and supporting structures of the teeth. While general dentists may offer some cosmetic procedures, periodontists like Dr. Rashti are uniquely trained to diagnose and treat conditions involving excessive gum tissue, lip movement, and jaw alignment, all root causes of a gummy smile.
Dr. Mahnaz Rashti holds advanced certification in periodontology and implantology from UCLA/VA and has over three decades of experience in aesthetic and functional smile reconstruction. At MR Dental Aesthetics, she combines this surgical expertise with an artistic eye to tailor treatments that not only correct your gummy smile but enhance your overall facial balance.
If your gummy smile has been holding you back, you have several options. At MR Dental Aesthetics, Dr. Rashti offers a wide range of advanced treatments to address the unique cause of your gummy smile and help you achieve the balanced smile you deserve. Schedule your consultation today and let your true smile shine through.
