Portland Dental Crown Lengthening Treatment

Dental crown lengthening, which is also referred to as crown extension or crown elongation, is an oral surgery procedure that is done when a tooth is too short for a restoration (typically a crown). The process involves removing bone, gum tissue, or both, in order to expose more of the tooth’s structure in order to prepare the tooth for a crown. The result is more of the tooth above the gums along with gum contours that flow smoothly.

Reasons for Crown Lengthening

There are several reasons that you may need to pursue crown lengthening in order to improve the function and appearance of your smile:

In some cases when not enough tooth is left above the gum line, tooth decay could get under the dental crown, resulting in the need for continued dental treatment, and you could potentially lose the tooth entirely. This is another reason that crown lengthening is such an important and useful procedure.

Benefits of Crown Lengthening

There are several reasons that you might want to go through the crown lengthening process:

What Crown Lengthening Involves

Crown lengthening is a surgical procedure performed by a dentist or periodontist. It can be performed on a single tooth, several teeth, or the entire gum line, depending on your oral health needs. This surgery, most commonly utilizes local anesthesia, so your dentist will start the procedure by thoroughly numbing the tooth.

Next, your dentist will make cuts into the tissue in order to pull the gums away from the affected teeth. This will provide access to the roots and the surrounding bone. In certain situations, removing a portion of the gum tissue might be necessary, and in other situations, the removal of bone might also be necessary.

Once enough of the tooth’s structure has been exposed, your dentist will wash the area with a saline solution before stitching the gums together, and the incision will be covered with a special bandage.

Dental Lengthening Surgery Recovery

The process of crown lengthening should cause relatively little pain, but your dentist may provide a prescription to help you manage your discomfort. You’ll be given dental care instructions and a special mouth rinse to care for your teeth throughout the recovery process. When caring for your teeth, it is important to avoid brushing the gums at the surgical site. Finally, you will return to your dentist’s office about a week after the procedure so that the stitches can be removed, but your gums will need some time to heal before the tooth can be fitted with the dental crown.

To schedule an appointment, please call us today at 503-334-1141.