What Is Soft Tissue Contouring and How Does It Improve Your Smile?
Everyone’s gum lines are not similar, with some having high, low, or uneven gums. If you are self-conscious about your gum line, soft tissue contouring can help change their appearance. Soft tissue contouring, also called gingival sculpting or gingivoplasty, is an option that helps reshape your gum line.
Your dentist might even suggest this procedure in some cases, especially if you have problems with your gums affecting your oral health. However, do you know what soft tissue contouring involves? If you don’t, we suggest you continue reading this article shedding light on this procedure, how it’s done, and what you can expect from it.
Soft Tissue Contouring Procedure Explained
Soft tissue contouring is performed by the dentist in Katy, TX, to reshape and resculpt your gum line. The reshaping process entails removing excess gum tissue around your teeth. The soft tissue contouring procedure involves restoring the tissue if you are affected by gum recession.
Soft tissue them contouring, in many cases, is an elective procedure indicating it is not medically essential. The process is performed to improve the appearance of your gums, teeth, and smile. However, there are times when your dentist might recommend soft tissue gum contouring for oral health needs.
Soft tissue contouring is performed by dentists in an in-office procedure needing merely one visit. You will remain awake during the therapy but receive local anesthesia to numb the gums. When performing soft tissue contouring in Katy, the dentist uses a soft tissue laser to remove excess gum tissue to resculpt the gum line to expose more of your tooth. They may also place sutures to hold the tissue around your teeth to restructure and lengthen the gum line.
Is Soft Tissue Contouring Painful?
You receive local anesthesia before the Katy dentist starts your procedure. The local anesthesia numbs your gums, ensuring you don’t feel pain when the dentist works in your mouth. However, you can expect some tenderness and numbness later. How much discomfort you feel depends on the reshaping procedure or whether the dentist has to remove your gums.
After the therapy, the dentist recommends pain relievers available over the counter. However, you mustn’t rely on aspirin because it can cause bleeding. You can also apply a cold compress or ice packs to reduce pain and swelling during the first couple of days.
How Long Is Recovery?
Minimal downtime is involved in soft tissue contouring, but you might require days or weeks for complete recovery. The dentist advises limiting activities for a day or two depending on how you feel and the tenderness in your mouth. As your gums will likely feel painful or tender must rely on soft foods for two to three days after your process. The dentist as well provides post-surgery instructions and informs you about foods to avoid during your recovery. In addition, they might prescribe antibiotics to prevent infections and request that you follow up with them a few days or a week after your procedure to monitor your progress.
Benefits of Soft Tissue Contouring
Soft tissue contouring may be an ideal process if you are unsatisfied with the display of your gums when smiling. You benefit from soft tissue contouring if you feel like you have a gummy smile or your gums cover a better part of your teeth. Similar is the case if you have an uneven gum line and feel you must improve your self-confidence. Soft tissue contouring also helps correct the unappealing looks of gum tissue exposed between your teeth.
Your smile remains noticeable when you meet people. If you are unhappy with your smile, it becomes evident to the people you talk with. Soft tissue contouring offers a permanent solution to improve your self-confidence. The procedure leaves you with an enhanced smile with a balanced gum line.
In addition, soft tissue contouring is comparable to other surgical or nonsurgical procedures to give you a complete smile makeover if there are parts of your smile that make you want to hide it. The process helps give you a charming and enhanced smile. In addition, it helps give you a rejuvenated appearance making you look youthful without needing plastic surgery.
With soft tissue contouring, the Katy dentist can help improve the looks of your smile by reshaping the contours of your gum line. By removing excess gum tissue, the dentist ensures your teeth look fuller and more attractive.
If you think you have a gummy smile, kindly schedule a consultation with Dr. Teeth Dental Care — Katy, who provides soft tissue contouring to improve your smile. The process is painless and helps restore your confidence in one visit to the dentist’s office.