Smile Architect Tips

Keep Smiling!

Smiling releases endorphins, which make you feel happy. However, when your smile makes you feel self-conscious (such as when you have a gummy smile) the opposite happens and you try to avoid smiling as much as possible. This can make you look overly serious, giving others the wrong impression about who you are. The good news is there is one gummy smile treatment that is effective, accessible, and non-invasive: Botox.

What Is Gummy Smile?

When a person smiles, it is normal for the teeth and just a small amount of gums to be visible. Those with a gummy smile, however, show an excessive amount of gums when they smile. A gummy smile is clinically diagnosed as showing more than 2 millimeters of upper gum when smiling. This tends to occur when the upper lip muscle pulls the lip up too high, when teeth are too short or gums too long, or when a person has a thin upper lip, which can create the impression of too much gum.

Gummy Smile Treatment with Botox

Traditional gummy smile treatment was surgery. It could involve cutting away some of the gums, repositioning the lip, or even lengthening the teeth. In all cases, it was necessary to receive a local anesthetic and spend several days recovering — managing pain and sticking to a diet of soft foods.

Gummy smile treatment with botox takes around 10 minutes. You receive a couple injections of Botox into the upper lip on either side of the mouth. This causes the muscles of the upper lip to relax, meaning your lip is able to cover more of your gums when you smile.

Only trained medical professionals can administer this gummy smile treatment, as there are many muscles and nerves around the lips and mouth. It is essential to inject botox into exactly the right place to solve the problem of a gummy smile. 

Is Gummy Smile Treatment with Botox Right for You?

You should consider Botox as a gummy smile treatment if you want the following:

• To avoid pain. Botox is a relatively painless option with no recovery period. You will be able to continue with your daily routine immediately after treatment.

• Fast results. The effects of gummy smile treatment fully apparent within 3-4 days of treatment.

• A natural appearance. Experienced professionals know just how much Botox to use for gummy smile treatment to bring the best results.

• A customized smile. Botox can last three months or more. If you are happy with the results, you can return two or three times a year to maintain your smile. Similarly, you have the option to adjust the number of injections you receive in each visit to better tailor your smile.

• To save money. A few units of Botox is more affordable than surgery.

The only way to be certain that botox is the right gummy smile treatment for you is to receive a consultation.

Smile is a curve that directs everyone in a positive, confident, and friendly manner, specially your own family. So always take care of your smile.

Did you know that 29.1 million people living in the united states have diabetes? that's 9.3% of the population. Approximately 1.7 million new cases are diagnosed each year and 8.1 million people living with diabetes don't even know they have it. 

Diabetes affects your body's ability to process sugar. All food you eat is turned to sugar and used for energy. In type I diabetes, the body doesn't make enough insulin, a hormone that carries sugar from your blood to the cells that need it for energy. In type ii diabetes, the body stops responding to insulin. Both cases result in high blood sugar levels, which can cause problems with your eyes, nerves, kidneys, heart and other parts of your body.

So what does this have to do with that smile of yours and how can you protect it? first, it's important to understand the signs of diabetes and the roles they play in your mouth.

The symptoms of untreated diabetes

The warning signs of diabetes affect every part of your body. After a blood test, you may be told by a doctor that you have high blood sugar. You may feel excessively thirsty or have to urinate a lot. Weight loss and fatigue are other common symptoms. Diabetes can also cause you to lose consciousness if your blood sugar falls too low. 

If diabetes is left untreated, it can take a toll on your mouth as well. Here's how:

You may have less saliva, causing your mouth to feel dry. (dry mouth is also caused by certain medications.)
Because saliva protects your teeth, you're also at a higher risk of cavities.
Gums may become inflamed and bleed often (gingivitis).
You may have problems tasting food.
You may experience delayed wound healing.
You may be susceptible to infections inside of your mouth.
For children with diabetes, teeth may erupt at an age earlier than is typical.
Why people with diabetes are more prone to gum disease

All people have more tiny bacteria living in their mouth now than there are people on this planet. If they make their home in your gums, you can end up with periodontal disease. This chronic, inflammatory disease can destroy your gums, all the tissues holding your teeth and even your bones.

Periodontal disease is the most common dental disease affecting those living with diabetes, affecting nearly 22% of those diagnosed. Especially with increasing age, poor blood sugar control increases the risk for gum problems. In fact, people with diabetes are at a higher risk for gum problems because of poor blood sugar control. As with all infections, serious gum disease may cause blood sugar to rise. This makes diabetes harder to control because you are more susceptible to infections and are less able to fight the bacteria invading the gums.

How your dentist can help you fight diabetes

Regular dental visits are important. Research suggests that treating gum disease can help improve blood sugar control in patients living with diabetes, decreasing the progression of the disease. Practicing good oral hygiene and having professional deep cleanings done by your dentist can help to lower your hba1c. (this is a lab test that shows your average level of blood sugar over the previous three months. It indicates how well you are controlling your diabetes.)

Your diabetes dental health action plan

Teamwork involving self-care and professional care from your dentist will be beneficial in keeping your healthy smile as well as potentially slowing progression of diabetes. Here are five oral health-related things you can do to for optimal wellness:

Control your blood sugar levels. Use your diabetes-related medications as directed, changing to a healthier diet and even exercising more can help. Good blood sugar control will also help your body fight any bacterial or fungal infections in your mouth and help relieve dry mouth caused by diabetes.
Avoid smoking.
If you wear any type of denture, clean it each day.
Make sure to brush twice a day with a soft brush and floss correctly daily.
See your dentist for regular checkup.

There is always the constant attempt to look better and more appealing. To this effect, smile designing is one particular specialty of cosmetic dentistry with the sole aim of improving a person's smile.
Photographs of various angles, jaw tracing analysis, and simulation of images on the computer are all used to arrive at an optimal size, shape, contour of the jaw and the teeth that can produce the best smile for a given patient. These changes are then replicated on paper and tooth models if required and detailed discussion happen with the patient. Thorough patient counseling is done before initiating work at smile designing.

Some parameters that are manipulated to produce a good smile designing are as follows - first the tooth per se followed by the soft tissues:

1. Tooth color: In most cases, the tooth color is changed using tooth whitening material or laser. Trust the dentist to achieve a balance between whiteness of the tooth and natural look. In some cases, silver amalgam fillings may be replaced with composite restorations to improve the appearance. Bridges with metal backup may be replaced with complete ceramic crowns too.
2. Tooth alignment: Crooked or misshaped teeth can be corrected using veneers in minor cases and by orthodontic braces in severe cases. Again, if the patient is very conscious, aesthetic ceramic braces (read more about braces) can be used.
3. Tooth length: If too much or too less of a tooth is showing during a smile, that needs to be corrected too. Longer teeth are considered to produce a younger appearance than short teeth, which usually is associated with old age and wear and tear. The gums can be reshaped as a part of crown lengthening.
4. Missing teeth: Teeth that are missing produce a very bad smile and need to be replaced at the earliest for a better smile. Depending on various factors including age and bone health, the choice could be a crown or a bridge or an implant.
5. Tooth ratio: When a person smiles, the front tooth are the most obvious and should have a ratio of length to width as 4 to 5. This produces a balanced smile.
6. Tooth texture: Mottling or rough edges on the tooth surface can be corrected by veneers or small composite restorations. As regards the soft tissues.
7. Gum line: The smile is reproduced on tracing and corrections are made to produce a better smile, even if it requires gum corrections.
8. Fuller lips and cheeks: Surgical procedures or chemicals may be used to produce fuller lips and cheeks that improve a person's smile.

The next time you are not happy with your smile, visit a dentist. With so many parameters that affect your smile, a little correction could produce a better smile! If you wish to discuss about any specific dental problem, you can consult a specilized dentist and ask a free question.

We helped this patient to transform her smiles using latest lithium disilicate materials using minimally invasive dentistry.