The crown of the tooth may become excessively short and difficult to restore due to caries (cavities), fracture, or prior restorative procedures. Teeth with good roots and supporting bone but poor crowns can be made restorable by use of a crown lengthening procedure.
Crown lengthening is a procedure in which the gingival is reshaped and a small amount of the bone is removed to expose additional tooth structure. This allows your restorative dentist to use the newly exposed tooth to rebuild the crown.
This procedure can save a tooth or multiple teeth which would otherwise be lost.
Crown lengthening may also be recommended by your restorative dentist to make a cosmetic dental procedure possible and to enhance your smile.
Before crown lengthening, this tooth was non restorable
New crown placed after crown lengthening
Before crown lengthening
After crown lengthening
New crown in place