People who have a “gummy” smile are afflicted by an appearance that has too little teeth and too much gums. A procedure called crown lengthening is performed to reshape gums and bone tissue. This is done to expose more of the teeth underneath.

In some cases, dentists perform crown lengthening as part of more complex procedure that entails bridge and crown work. For example, a tooth may need to be “lengthened” to make bridge or crown procedure more effective.