Lengthening a crown means taking a dental crown and making it longer. Often, this explanation doesn't help because of a slight confusion over the word "crown". Actually, dentists like me use the proper term "crown" to mean the visible tooth people see when you smile.

In this type of crown, it is the part of your tooth that emerges from the gumline.

Another understanding of crown is when it is used to refer to porcelain or metal that we use to replace parts of natural teeth.

I did say it was confusing, didn't I?

There are a lot of people with gummy teeth. I don't mean people who eat gummy bear candies. I'm talking about those whose gums are so dominant that your crown may barely show itself. If you smile, perhaps it's an all gum smile.

Patients who sit in the chair at my Florence dental office naturally prefer not to have a gummy smile. They may also have a medical reason to seek longer crowns.

During the dental crown lengthening procedure I remove a bit of your gum to give your tooth the appearance of being longer. In some cases, in preparing for a porcelain crown, we may go a little into the bone. But usually we do a little work on the gum.

If you undergo crown lengthening in our Florence dental office, we first give you a local anesthetic. When you are nice and numb, I will take out my laser or an alternative cutter to slowly remove the slivers of gum material at the edges.

I may also do so for the adjacent teeth. This is to prevent me from concentrating on one particular area. It provides an even finish. This is a very important factor. I can assure you I take great care with this and I have done a huge number with great results.

If it's a porcelain crown you want, then first I will prepare the tooth before I give you a temporary crown. After maybe one month, or less, it is time to make another trip to our dental office. The crown, which was built by the lab, we give you this time will stay for many years.

When it comes to crown lengthening, if it is done because you desire a nicer smile, it's all over and you can go home. Possibly, you want to go that extra mile and get some veneers. I even have my other Florence cosmetic dentistry, which you could go for.

I can't wait to see you to show you what we can do with cosmetic dentistry, at our dental clinic here in Florence.