Case Study 60 – Length of teeth and ” gummy” smile

Length of Teeth and “gummy” smile – Treatment was with braces in the Damon System customized with Insignia.  Her treatment was to address space between her teeth, upper front teeth that were too long, upper front teeth that were too far in front of the lower teeth, and a smile that was low such that she showed too much gum tissue when she smiled (long upper jaw).  Total treatment time was about 23 months with braces and elastics but was without removal of any teeth and was without a palatal expander.  After alignment of her smile, we used TAD’s (temporary anchorage devices) to lift her smile to reduce the amount of gum tissue showing when she smiles.  The TAD’s were removed and there is not any evidence that they had ever been placed…. again, they are “temporary” anchorage devices.  Also, after initial alignment of all of her teeth, we polished the edges of the upper two front teeth to shorten them gradually over a couple of appointments in order to make them more proportional to the others.

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