Rejuvenating Gummy Smiles - Washington, DC
Gummy smile treatment in Washington, DC. Dr. Gerald Marlin provides crown lengthening and cosmetic correction for a balanced smile.
Expert Crown Lengthening Services For a Balanced, Radiant Smile
Reset Your Smile Function And Confidence
A “gummy” smile can significantly impact your confidence, hindering natural expressions and interactions. If you’re seeking relief from small teeth and self-consciousness, consider our personalized crown lengthening services in Washington, DC.
At Elite Prosthetic Dentistry, our seasoned cosmetic dentist and prosthodontist specialize in enhancing smiles’ health and aesthetics. Through a meticulous assessment process, we identify the underlying causes of your gummy smile, ensuring tailored and enduring solutions that restore your confidence in a beautifully balanced smile.
Common Causes of Gummy Smiles
- Improper passive tooth eruption
- Short or hyperactive upper lip
- Enlarged gums
- Medication use
- Genetics
Expert Crown Lengthening Treatment
Our crown lengthening procedure at Elite Prosthetic Dentistry serves aesthetic and functional purposes. While many seek treatment for cosmetic reasons, addressing a gummy smile promotes oral health by reducing the risk of decay and infection due to excess gum tissue harboring plaque.
Our experienced prosthodontist, Dr. Marlin, carefully assesses your condition, considering functional and aesthetic aspects in treatment planning. Precisely mapping out the natural height of each tooth and surrounding gum tissue, we ensure a balanced smile with the right tooth-to-gum ratio. With our expertise, you can enjoy the benefits of your enhanced smile for years!
The Proof Is In Our Patients
Saving Failing Dental Implants
When you entrust ailing implants to our highly accomplished prosthodontist, treatment is based on your unique circumstances. As an example, one of our patients developed bone loss seven years after placement and restoration. To detoxify and re-graft the bone around a failing implant, the abutment and crown were removed, bone graft material was combined with a growth factor, and the implant was shielded under the protective gum tissue. Imaging after four months showed new bone formation that filled in around the side and top of the implant. After five months, the implant was exposed, and the abutment and crown were reseated, thereby saving the implant without the need to remove it!
Rejuvenating Gummy Smiles
If excessive gum tissue is causing a hit to your self-esteem or gum recession is exposing too much of your teeth, gum contouring surgery can address both issues. Also known as gum reshaping, this type of cosmetic dentistry in Washington, DC, can improve the appearance or even out an uneven gum line to restore a harmonious and balanced gum-to-tooth ratio. If teeth are misshapen, discolored, or misaligned, gum reshaping is performed in conjunction with crowns or veneers.
Full Mouth Reconstruction Procedures
Dental Crowns & Bridges
Patients who seek our expert care often receive crowns or bridges elsewhere that have already been replaced one or more times. Although we provide milled, ceramic-based crowns where appropriate, we usually merge the best digital technology with hand-crafting expertise, providing an ideal fit with a dazzling smile.
All our crowns and bridges are masterfully fabricated at our on-site dental lab with different porcelains on either an all-ceramic or high noble metal base (coping). Our highly skilled in-house technician fabricates crowns and bridges with the utmost precision and attention to detail, delivering restorations that typically last 35 years or longer!
Dental Implants
If your teeth are too severely decayed, damaged, or diseased to save, dental implants are an excellent long-term investment because they replicate your natural teeth’ appearance, function, and durability. After they fuse with your underlying jawbone, dental implants prevent bone loss and changes to your facial structure, restore 99% of oral function, and offer extensive longevity. That said, getting dental implants from a highly skilled implant surgeon is essential.
Precision Implant Placement
Creating great smiles with dental implants is a highly sophisticated process that presents challenges. Every aspect of the dental implant process, from planning and surgical insertion to the placement of the final restoration, requires in-depth skills to achieve the highest levels of precision placement and restoration. At Elite Prosthetic Dentistry, we rely on cutting-edge technology and decades of expertise to eliminate guesswork and provide a radiant, natural smile built on a stable, strong foundation topped with beautiful restorations crafted on-site.
Front Tooth Replacement
Missing a front tooth in your smile zone can cause embarrassment and damage self-esteem. Replacing a front tooth with a dental implant and crown is one of the most challenging areas of restorative dentistry, especially when it involves one of the two central incisors in the midline. Our prosthodontist goes above and beyond to deliver outstanding front tooth replacement. This includes advanced imaging to analyze your bone health and formulate a precise surgical plan and create guides, precision dental implant placement, internal coloration for a 3D effect, and custom chairside staining of your crown to match adjacent teeth.
Implant-Restored Fixed Bridge
Although a traditional bridge is a cost-effective dental reconstruction, healthy anchor teeth must be modified and crowned, and bone loss continues under the false tooth or teeth. Our fixed implant bridges rely exclusively on dental implants to support your prosthesis, preserving your underlying jawbone while providing more excellent function and aesthetics. With advanced dental technology, meticulous surgical planning, and decades of top-level expertise, you’ll benefit from aesthetically pleasing, highly durable implant-supported bridges created at our on-site dental lab.
Ridge Augmentation & Bone Grafting
Whether you have bone deterioration due to tooth loss, gum disease, or trauma, various bone grafting procedures at Elite Prosthetic Dentistry can resolve this problem and allow you to receive restorative dental procedures. If you have existing bone loss and require dental implants, bone grafting is often necessary to ensure proper fusion with your underlying jaw bone.
Ridge augmentation is a procedure that adds bone graft material to the outside of the ridge bone that surrounds your teeth. Special drills expand the ridge internally with bone added in the newly formed “tooth” socket. The sites are protected with a special barrier membrane and allowed to heal and integrate before precision implant placement in Washington, DC.
Failing Implant Repair
Dental implants can fail for various reasons, from untreated preexisting gum disease to seeking care from an inexperienced implant dentist. Our prosthodontist is acclaimed for repairing failing dental implants and has achieved virtually no bone loss and a 97% success rate in implants he placed 20 years ago! His patented implant system solves many problems by restoring angled and rotated implants, a significant industry problem. This innovative system has been used to restore more than 14,000 dental implants.
Mini Dental Implants
Mini dental implants are fabricated from the same biocompatible materials as standard dental implants but with a reduced diameter (less than 3 mm) and a shorter length. Because they’re more minor and less permanent, mini dental implants often provide immediate anchorage for overdentures. Mini dental implants aren’t as strong or long-lasting as regular implants. Therefore, they should be replaced within several months to one year.
Related Resources
- See patient outcomes
- View our smile gallery
- Patient testimonials
- Patient education resources
- Am I a candidate?
- Too much gum showing when you smile?
Complementary Cosmetic Procedures
Gummy smile correction is often combined with other cosmetic dentistry treatments for a complete smile transformation. After excess gum tissue is removed, porcelain veneers or custom-crafted crowns can further refine the shape and color of your teeth. Professional teeth whitening is another popular complement to gum reshaping. For patients who want a comprehensive result, an ultimate smile makeover addresses every element of your smile. Sedation dentistry is available for patients who prefer additional comfort.
Serving Patients From
Maryland
Bethesda | Chevy Chase | Potomac
Washington, DC
Virginia
Your Best Smile Is Within Reach
Schedule a consultation with Dr. Gerald Marlin to discuss your treatment options and take the first step toward a healthier, more confident smile.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is your gummy smile treatment office located?
Our office is at 4400 Jenifer Street NW, Suite 220, Washington, DC 20015, in the Friendship Heights neighborhood near the Metro Red Line station.
Why should I see a prosthodontist for gummy smile correction?
A prosthodontist completes 3 additional years of specialty training beyond dental school, focusing on the relationship between gum tissue, tooth proportions, and overall smile esthetics. This advanced training allows for precise, conservative treatment planning.
Is gummy smile correction painful?
Crown lengthening and other gummy smile treatments are performed with local anesthesia and sedation options. Most patients report manageable discomfort that resolves within a few days, with full healing over several weeks.
Related Patient Success Stories
Explore similar patient success stories demonstrating our expertise in advanced prosthetic dentistry.
Temporary Crowns Restore Patient's Smile in Just One Day with an Immediate Smile Makeover
A patient from Potomac, Maryland, came to Elite Prosthetic Dentistry with the chief complaint of pain from a failing dental implant and its significant impact on her appearance.
Multi-Faceted Treatment for Patient Unhappy With Her Artificial-Looking Crowns, Teeth and Gums
Many patients come to Elite Prosthetic Dentistry unhappy with the appearance of their smile. However, this particular patient presented with multiple interconnected problems that together created a smile she found deeply unsatisfying.
Salvaging Ms. N’s Severely Broken-Down Upper and Lower Teeth from Gum and Bone Disease
Many people in the U.S. suffer from extensive periodontal disease characterized by significant bone loss and shrinkage of the gum tissue. This condition can begin at a very young age and worsen quickly due to hereditary factors and lack of early diagnosis by their dentist.
A Smile Transformation in Just Four Months: A Patient’s Dental Crown Restoration for a TV Series
A patient with dental crowns that were in poor shape was going to appear on a streaming video series on a major TV network that was scheduled to begin filming soon. Our patient, John, an author about to embark on a book tour, was anxious as his teeth were not up to his standards to appear on television.
Replacing a Discolored Front Tooth with a Precision Placed Implant
Some of the most challenging restorations occur when fabricating an anterior crown to fit on an implant. Not only does one have the difficulty of matching the single front tooth to the other ones in the high visibility zone, but the dentist must also ensure the position of the underlying implant is precise through accurate preplanning and placement.
Patient Was Dissatisfied With Her 'Gummy' Smile
Excessive gingival tissue, commonly referred to as a "gummy smile," can significantly impact the appearance of a person's smile and their self-confidence. When someone smiles and a large amount of gum tissue is visible above the teeth, it can create the perception that the teeth are too small or short, even when they are actually normal size.
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Rejuvenating Gummy Smiles - Washington, DC Near You
Dr. Gerald Marlin provides rejuvenating gummy smiles - washington, dc services to patients throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Select your community to learn more.
Ready to Transform Your Smile?
With 40+ years of experience and 3,900+ dental implants placed, Dr. Gerald Marlin delivers results that last. Schedule your consultation today.