When dentists talk about lengthening a crown, they mean trying to take your dental crown and making it longer. Often, this explanation doesn't help because of a slight confusion over the word "crown". Actually, dentists usually understand the term "crown" to refer to the natural tooth you see in a smile.

If you want to get more technical, it is actually the part of your tooth that is visible and not inside your gums.

Crown is also used to refer to porcelain or metal that partially replaces natural teeth.

It is confusing, as I said, but I hope you can now see the difference.

You find quite a few folks with gummy teeth. No, it has nothing to do with those gummy bear jelly sweets. It has to do with your gums, and how they rise so high that it looks as if your teeth are very short. Your smile is almost all gums.

People who seek treatment in my Richmond dental office want a dazzling smile. Not a gummy one. Or there may be dental reasons to reduce gum and go for longer crowns.

With dental crown lengthening, I just cut away some of your gumline to make the tooth appear longer. If we are preparing the tooth to receive a porcelain crown, we might be forced to dig a little on the bone. The gum, however, is our main target and we try to avoid going into the bone.

If we perform crown lengthening at our Richmond dental office, we will give you a local anesthetic. Then comes the good part. It sounds like sci-fi but I will use a laser or another implement to cut away, little by little, on your gum borders.

I might also do some cutting on neighboring teeth. This way, I'm not concentrating on one particular area. It provides an even finish. This is one part that needs plenty of skill and care. I know what I'm doing because I know what is involved.

When it comes to giving you a porcelain crown, I have to do some preparation work before completing phase one of your treatment with a temporary crown. This temporary crown will be with you for about a month before we ask you to come back to our clinic. At this point, we will give you your permanent, lab-made crown.

You would know best why you want to undergo crown lengthening. If the main purpose is because you desire a nicer smile, then you're all done. Maybe you would like to continue with veneers. And there's also my other Richmond cosmetic dentistry to try out.

Please take some time to visit me to seek your views on our cosmetic dentistry, over here at our Richmond dental clinic.

I can give you my special 36 page report that will let you know what happens behind the scenes in sedation dentistry. You can read it absolutely free. Don't worry about your personal information. I won't share it with anyone and you can opt out anytime. However, what I would like to show you is periodic pictures of what we do and other information that you are sure to find quite interesting and also helpful. There is no reason to wait. Please contact my Midlothian VA office and confirm a date to come and see us so we can assist you.