A crown lengthening is a common procedure designed to re-contour the gum tissue and bone around a tooth. It's often performed to reduce the appearance of a "gummy smile" when too much gum tissue and far too little tooth structure get displayed when smiling. We may perform a crown lengthening procedure on a single tooth to make the gum line appear even with the other teeth or on several teeth to improve a smile's overall appearance.
A crown lengthening procedure can also make more tooth structure available for a retentive dental crown or bridge when a tooth is decayed or otherwise damaged below the gum line.