As one of many specialty periodontal procedures performed by our office, crown lengthening is a long-lasting restorative process utilized to help patients regain a beautiful smile and allow them to eat and speak with comfort and confidence.

Crown lengthening is a simple surgical procedure where the position of the gum around a tooth is adjusted to expose more of the tooth structure. If a tooth is decayed, broken below the gum line or has insufficient crown height, there might not be enough tooth structure available to accommodate restoration procedures, such as a crown or bridge. In these instances, crown lengthening surgery may be necessary in order to provide more tooth structure for Dr. Ostrer to work with.

For the patient’s comfort, a local anesthetic is used to numb the surgical area. Typically, little to no discomfort is felt as Dr. Ostrer reshapes the gum and bone tissue to expose more structure of the damaged tooth. Following the surgery, the treated area may be a little tender, sore or swollen; painkillers and antibiotics may be prescribed to help relieve discomfort and prevent infection from occurring.

In most cases, recovery time after crown lengthening surgery is minimal; patients can resume their normal routines the day after surgery.