When
decay occurs below the gumline, it may be necessary to remove a small amount of
bone and gum tissue. Your dentist may ask for this procedure before he or she
makes a new crown for your tooth.
Crown
Lengthening procedures are done for both restorative dentistry and/or to improve
the esthetics of your gum line. General practitioners often refer for crown
lengthening procedures prior to restoration of broken or severely decayed teeth.
This procedure adjusts the gum and bone level to expose more of the tooth so it
can be restored.
Sometimes crown lengthening is done to improve a "gummy" smile
because the teeth appear short. The teeth may actually be the proper length but
excess gum tissue may be covering these teeth. During this procedure, excess gum
and bone tissue is reshaped to expose more of the natural
tooth