A gummy smile or high lip line can present challenges when placing dental implants on front teeth. We are aware that even with grafting procedures following an extraction some bone loss will occur and so the placement of the implant may make the implant tooth crown look longer than the surrounding natural teeth.
However, there is a technique that can almost eliminate the chance of this occurring, it is called root shield or bone shield procedure. It evolves leaving a small lip sided shell of the tooth being extracted in place while still placing the implant. This is done in order to preserve the blood supply to very thin piece of bone keeping the tooth in place. Each tooth has a ligament between the tooth and the bone, this ligament supplies a great deal of blood to the underlying bone by leaving a thin shell under the gum line the blood is preserved and so is the bone. An implant is place the day of extraction and graft as well. a temporary crown may able to be place same day as well . In this doctor hands this has worked well in preserving bone and gum height.
Consults are always at no charge at our office so come by we will talk about it !
Comments are closed.