Note sull'episodio
The Gummy Smile: What Excessive Gingival Display Actually Is, and What Can Be Done
A gummy smile is defined as more than 2 mm of gum tissue showing above the upper
front teeth at a full smile, a threshold credited to Peck and Peck (1995) and
still the most commonly used limit in smile esthetics research. The clinical term
is excessive gingival display. It is classified as a nonpathological anatomical
variation, not a disease.
This episode covers the clinical definition, prevalence, the five underlying
causes, and the four evidence-based treatment categories, with particular
attention to how those treatments compare over twelve months rather than at the
one-month mark.
Topics covered:
1. Why gummy smile searches spiked, and why a still frame is not diagnostic
2. The 2 mm definition and the term excessive gingival display
3. Prevalence: roughly 10 percent of a 454-person young adult sample showed a
high smile line (Tjan et al., 1984), more often in women
4. Five causes: hyperactive upper lip, short upper lip, altered passive
eruption, vertical maxillary excess, dentoalveolar extrusion
5. Four treatments: esthetic crown lengthening, lip repositioning surgery,
botulinum toxin, orthodontic intrusion
6. Durability data from Maleki et al. (2024): comparable reduction at one month,
but nonsurgical results returning to baseline by twelve months
7. Digital Smile Design as a pre-treatment preview
8. Listener questions on health risk, veneers, genetics and periodontal surgery
Full article: https://www.maltepedentalclinic.com/blog/charlie-kirk-smile/
Website: https://www.maltepedentalclinic.com/
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@podcastsofmaltepedental
Contact: smile@maltepedentalclinic.com
Educational content only. Not medical advice.