Gummy smile: reducing gum smile
Laughing is healthy and wonderful if you can do it everyday. But you prefer to laugh with lips closed or with a hand in front of your mouth. A so-called gummy smile is nothing to be ashamed of and it’s often innate. Still, you may not like or appreciate the fact that so much of your gums is visible when you smile. As you consider doing something about this, we’d like to tell you what your options are and what steps you can take. During a consultation with a plastic surgeon at our private clinic located in Maastricht, we’ll provide you with all the necessary information so you can make an informed decision.
What is a gummy smile?
A gummy smile is a term used to describe a smile where a lot of the gums are visible. In a gummy smile, more than 2 millimeters of the gums are usually exposed when a person smiles. You may not like this yourself or your teeth may seem very short in proportion, even though they are not.
There are several causes of a gummy smile, including too much gum tissue, a short upper lip, a high lip line or overactive muscles in the face. A gummy smile is often hereditary and can therefore be visible at a young age.
When to get your gummy smile treated?
If your smile bothers you or even embarrasses you, it’s good to know that can be done to easily treat it. Most people who have their gummy smile treated, usually don’t like it themselves and find that they smile less or laugh with their hand in front of their mouth.
Reduce Gummy Smile with Botox
In most cases, your gummy smile can be treated with a muscle relaxant such as Botox. If the muscles that pull your upper lip up while smiling are overactive, the muscle relaxant can prevent the so-called smile muscles from pulling your upper lip up too far. This way your gums stay neatly behind your upper lip. After the Botox treatment, you can smile fully again and maintain your natural appearance.
Botox® or Bocouture®.
At MOOI Clinic, we work with two different brands of muscle relaxants: Botox® and Bocouture®. Botox® is the well-known brand of Allergan. Bocouture® is a new, purified form of Botulinum toxin. During a consultation, we will tell you about both brands and help you make the right choice.
Consultation and treatment
During the consultation, the doctor will look at your face, smile and gums and recommend what is an appropriate treatment for you to reduce or get rid of the gummy smile. Often treatment can be done immediately after the consultation.
With Botox treatment, the substance is injected through two injections into the muscles that pull your upper lip up. Smiling creates facial expressions, so it’s very important to achieve a natural result and not lose your radiance. Always choose Botox treatment from a specialist such as a cosmetic doctor or plastic surgeon. The treatment takes about 15 minutes and no anesthesia is required.
After treatment
There are rarely any side effects after Botox treatment. In case of swelling or pain, you can treat the areas with a cold compress but this is usually not necessary. After treatment, you can do almost anything again. We only recommend that you keep your head upright for the first 3-4 hours, and don’t exercise (including yoga), or use a tanning bed or sauna for 24 hours.
Our specialists
Our specialists
Your appearance is precious to us. We believe that for proper treatment, you need the right people. Training, competence and quality can only be provided with specialists who understand their trade. We do not want to be the largest clinic in the Netherlands, but the best.
FAQ
This varies from person to person. The more often you have already performed a toxin treatment the longer the effect often remains as well. Thus, the effect will often last around 3 months in the beginning and later it can stretch to 4-6 months.
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