Gummy Smile

Some people feel that when they smile they show too much of their gums, or that their gums are simply too noticeable. This is often referred to as a ‘gummy smile’. Gummy Smile is a fact that often their upper lip elevates too far above their upper teeth because they have a hyperactive muscle which elevates the upper lip. As a result, it exposes the gum and produces an unattractive smile. Fortunately, a gummy smile can be effectively corrected with Botox (commonly known as Botulinum toxin). It is an injection that reduces the activity of the muscle that elevates the upper lip.

The smile is one of the most defining characteristics of every person’s face. The smiles can cause many social hindrances if its features are considered unappealing. Excessive gingival display or a “gummy smile” is a common cause of making us uncomfortable to smile. Those who suffer from the condition may feel self-conscious and many practitioners offer treatment to relieve a gummy smile, many of these procedures are surgical and therefore very invasive and expensive.

In this case, BOTOX® injections have been shown to effectively treat the appearance of a gummy smile and is a much more manageable cheap procedure to receive than surgery. The process is simple and effective you just have two or more injections on either side of the mouth. After that, the muscles on the face can relax and the lips can begin to cover up the gums, it producing a more aesthetically appealing smile. BOTOX® treatment for the gummy smile is now well-known worldwide. If you are self-conscious because of excessive gingival display, BOTOX® may be the right solution for you.

The gummy smile treatment procedure is very simple. At first, identify of nostril and nose to mouth fold to weaken the muscles then a small amount of Botulinum toxin will be injected at both sides of the junction. Botulinum toxin is a naturally come up protein that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum. Botulinum toxin effectively blocks the transition of chemical messages sent from the nerve to cause the muscle to contract and without these messages, the muscle stays in a resting state until the ‘messengers’ recover.

There are some variety of botulinum toxin such as Botox®, 

• Azzalure®, 
• Bocouture®, 
• Xeomin®, 
• Dysport®. 

All botulinum toxins can only be prescribed by doctors, dentists, prescribing nurses and pharmacists following a face to face assessment or consultation.

The result you observed may be different from others but it is expected that you will start to see a reformation within 2 or 3 days when the elevation of the upper lip will gradually become less and less. Most of the patients get the full result within 2 weeks after the treatment. We like to invite you after 2-3 weeks later and judge the result. After that, you may be invited to attend a review appointment. If necessary, the success of the treatment may be assessed and adjustments to your personal treatment plan will be made. We suggest keeping the target muscles active for a few hours. We also recommended avoiding extremes of heat or cold, vigorous exercise, lying down or leaning over for 4-6 hours. It will take approximately 8 to 12 weeks on an average to recover properly.

The entire treatment sessions take no longer than 30 minutes.

• Botox injections are minimally invasive and cause no pain.
• It is produced results quickly compared to other methods.
• It is more cost-effective than surgical options.
• According to your current conditions, the injections can be adjusted based on treatment goals.
• Botox produce the most complete natural and proportional smile with the face.
• There is no downtime required when the procedure is finished.

• An extra display of gum tissue in your upper jaw can result from the abnormal eruption of the teeth. Often teeth covered by extra gum tissue and so it looks short, even though they may actually be the proper length.
• The muscle that controls the movement of your upper lip could be hyperactive, and it is the cause your upper lip to rise up higher than normal. When this happens, more of your gum tissue is exposed when you smile.
• If your upper jaw bone grew and developed with unusual way that can cause the appearance of a gummy smile. As you have an excessive bulgy extension of the upper jaw within the gum tissue, you probably experience an obvious gummy looks when you smile.

There are a number of events of a gummy smile, the most common ones are:

• Teeth that appear short because they covered by gum tissue.
• Teeth look small in comparison to the gums due to genetics.
• An upper lip may seem too short.
• A hyperactive upper lip lifts too high when smiling exposing a lot of gum tissue through its normal in length when the face is resting.
• One of the major reason is that an overgrowth of the upper jaw, called vertical maxillary excess, that makes gums bulge out.

To produce an aesthetics smile there are four key elements. You most probably notice that they are teeth, lips, jaws or gums, which are key components that dictate your smile aesthetics. Proportion and positioning are played the vital role and when one piece of the smile puzzle isn’t correct, it can throw everything off. One of the research showed that the majority of instances, the condition behind a gummy smile is genetic. So there’s nothing you can do to prevent it.

At first, your practitioner considers all the medical history and an assessment of your needs and expectations to ensure this is an appropriate treatment for you. Botox is a prescription only medicine and so you have to a face to face consultation with a licensed prescriber to assess if you are suitable for treatment.

• Normally Botulinum toxin is not recommended as a treatment for those under 25 or over 65 unless there is an exceptional circumstance. 
• The best results obtain who has a good skin condition and the target lines not too furrowed.
• This treatment cannot be given to pregnant or breastfeeding women.
• Patients with certain neurological disorders also not suitable for the treatments.
• If you have previously experienced indecent reactions with any Botox injectable treatment.
• We are not advised if you are suffering from any skin infection inside or near the treatment area even a cold.
• Avoid this treatment If you have to take regular medicines like aspirin or warfarin that are affect bleeding.
• If you recently have an “Acne treatment” in the last 18 months.
• If you are planning to attend a special event, then discuss with your clinician in advance of having treatment.
• Some counter medicines can also affect bleeding as alcohol- which should be avoided the day before and after treatment.
• You have to avoid hard exercise, sun exposure, sun beds, sauna should be avoided for 48 hours.

All treatments carry a degree of risk and so all risks and complications will be discussed with you. Do not worry we administer the entire process by a professional with specialist training.  

You may have observed some of these side effects:

• Bruising
• Swelling
• Redness
• Some patients may face Asymmetry of expression
• Very rare of Drooping of the brow, or eyelid
• Headache or sometimes a sensation of tightness

Adverse events are rare, generally, occur within a few days of treatment. The side effect is expected to be temporary and resolving easily within weeks. We will provide aftercare advice designed to minimise risk and promote speedy recovery from any expected side effects.

Botox is a relatively painless option with no recovery periods so you are able to continue with your daily routine immediately after treatment. As it produces fast results within 3-4 days of treatment. Most experienced professionals use Botox for gummy smile treatment to bring the best natural results. It gives you have the option to adjust the number of injections you receive in each visit to better tailor your smile. And proportionally it saves money. There are no other treatments that feature all the above benefits. So you can use Botox with zero hesitation and gain your beautiful smile and confidence too.