Gummy Smile

A gummy smile is where more of your gum shows when you smile than you’d prefer. Whilst this is also a common feature in many people’s smiles, some people may wish that less of their gums show when they smiled to be more in proportion to their teeth. Studies showed that smiles were considered to be attractive when 2mm or less of gum is exposed when smiling.

A gummy smile can be caused by a few different factors. Firstly, it could be due to the way that your teeth have grown through, as they may be shorter, which causes your gum to cover more of the tooth than normal. A gummy smile can also be caused by the way that your muscles in the lower half of your face operate, so that when you smile, your lip lifts higher up when smiling.

Aside from dental treatments, there are some aesthetic treatments that may reduce the appearance of gummy smiles, depending on the severity of your concern. Lip fillers can help to increase the size of the lips and in particular the top lip which may then cover more of the gum when smiling. Another option would be to use anti-wrinkle injections to weaken the muscles around this area, therefore reducing the movement of the lip and covering up some of the gum surface.