Crown lengthening
Surgical exposure of tooth structure for restorative or esthetic purposes.
Last updated
Crown lengthening is a surgical procedure performed by a dentist or periodontist to expose more tooth structure by removing gingival margin and supporting bone. It is done for functional reasons, such as improving crown retention or accessing subgingival caries, and for esthetic reasons, such as correcting a gummy smile. Orthodontic extrusion using braces is an alternative method to achieve crown lengthening.
Quick Facts
- Junctional epithelium average
- 0.97 mm / 0.038 in
- Connective tissue attachment average
- 1.07 mm / 0.042 in
- Sta range
- 0.75–4.33 mm / 0.002–0.014 ft
- Ferrule effect height
- ~2 mm / 0.079 in
- Ferrule effect width
- ~1 mm / 0.039 in
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- After surgical crown lengthening, the gingival margin may gradually migrate coronally, so tissue position is reassessed before the definitive restoration.
- Reduction of soreness and return to normal feeling often take one to two weeks.
- A pilot study found that beginning prosthetic treatment at six weeks produced clinical outcomes comparable to beginning at 14 weeks.
More in Surgical Procedures and Techniques
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Crown lengthening (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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