Gingivectomy is used to correct irregularly shaped or asymmetrical gums caused by genetics, disease, or trauma. Gingivectomy was originally developed to treat periodontal disease. Today, gingivectomy is more often used for aesthetic purposes.
You may need to remove gum tissue for two reasons:
– Pockets or periodontal pockets form between the teeth. Periodontal pockets can trap food particles and eventually harbor colonies of bacteria. Periodontal pocket areas are difficult to clean with traditional tartar cleaning and sandblasting. If the pockets consist of soft tissue, they can be removed by trimming the gums in a gingivectomy procedure.
– Too much gum tissue surrounds the teeth. Apart from aesthetic reasons, these areas are hard to clean. In more serious situations, it may interfere with chewing and speech. It is mostly due to long-term gum inflammation or periodontitis, and sometimes it is a consequence of genetics or some trauma.
Gingivectomy and gingivoplasty
Gingivectomy and gingivoplasty are similar procedures that involve the surgical removal of gum tissue. They can be used alone or together to treat medical or aesthetic issues.
Gingivectomy is the surgical removal of gum tissue around periodontal pockets. It is often used to remove diseased or dead tissue to allow healing. Gingivoplasty is the reshaping of gum tissue. Although it can be used to remove diseased tissue, it is more often used for aesthetic reshaping of the gum line around the teeth.
The most common reason for gingivectomy is a response to periodontal disease. Periodontal disease is an advanced form of gingivitis or gum disease. As the disease progresses, the plaque and bacteria causing tartar move down the tooth and below the gum line. This creates a "pocket" between the gum and tooth. If left untreated, the infection will even begin to degrade the bone tissue.
Gummy smile
In cases where the "gummy smile" is large, and the teeth are small and/or there are gaps between the teeth, a treatment of excess gum removal can be performed with a laser. In this case, veneers can also be placed. This way, the gum is formed according to the new veneers, so completely controlled results are obtained. Veneers represent a permanent solution in aesthetic dentistry, and they behave and look like completely natural teeth so patients have a feeling of complete naturalness and solidity.
Therapy depends on the cause of excessive gum visibility, therefore, it is important to determine the real cause of the problem in order to enable adequate therapy. Some cases due to their complexity require a multidisciplinary approach in which specialists in orthodontics, periodontology, maxillofacial surgery, and prosthetics often participate.
There are several possible causes of increased gum visibility in a smile:
- overdevelopment of the upper jaw,
- short upper lip,
- excessive mobility of the upper lip,
- delay in tooth eruption,
- abrasion (excessive wear), and
- elongation of teeth (excessive growth).
English 
Bosnian