Shaping the gum
Given a suitable distance between bone and planned edge, gum can be reshaped using a laser or another precise instrument.
- Fits smaller adjustments.
- Limited by what will heal stably.
- Involves soft tissue only.
You fixed it in a photo app. Now what?
Gum Contouring for Exchange District Residents
A quick edit nudged the gumline up and you liked what you saw. That picture says something useful about your goal, though not whether it can be done. For Exchange District residents wanting to test the idea against real anatomy, assessment happens at our McPhillips Street clinic in Winnipeg.
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Pixels and tissue
What an Edit Can Show and What It Can’t
Software can move an edge anywhere, with nothing underneath to consider. Your real gumline sits on a tooth with a fixed enamel boundary and on bone that needs a certain distance from the margin. Those constraints decide how much of your edit is achievable and whether it would stay put.
Contouring may still bring you closer to what you pictured, by reshaping tissue that covers part of the tooth or sits unevenly. Exchange District is in Winnipeg, and residents who want to explore this are seen at our clinic on McPhillips Street, where a proposed outline is drawn from measurements.
Explore gum contouring
Your edit as a clue
A retouched picture is a handy way to show what you would like. It is not a plan.
Anatomy has a say
Enamel, tissue thickness and bone set limits that a screen doesn’t have to respect.
Still photos, moving lips
A frozen image leaves out how your lip travels when you speak and smile.
Turning a picture into a plan
Real change takes one of two forms.
Moving an edge on a screen is one action. In the mouth, the method depends on how much room the bone leaves for the planned margin.
Going down to bone
Should the bone sit too close, crown lengthening provides surgical access to adjust it, followed by securing the gum at the chosen height.
- Can uncover more of the tooth.
- Preserves a margin you can clean.
- A substantial step beyond an edit.
A big change on screen may need more than tissue work in person, and a small one may not be advisable at all.
Checking the edit against reality
How your picture gets a real-world answer.
Feel free to bring your edited image. It gets you straight to the point, and the steps below show how far it can be taken.
Request your visit- 01
Compare the images
Your edit is set against true clinical photos, so the desired change can be understood and discussed.
- 02
Measure the real thing
Gum levels and tooth width are recorded in relation to your midline and smile curve.
- 03
Explore beneath the surface
The enamel edge and tissue thickness get assessed, with sounding or imaging where the bone is in question.
- 04
Mark what’s possible
Proposed margins show the realistic version, which can then be weighed against the one you made.
Files worth saving
Keep your before and your after.
Hang on to both the original and the edited image, since the difference between them conveys your goal better than a description. Pictures from other people’s smiles can help too, as examples of what you like.
Bleeding or soreness isn’t something an edit reveals, so mention any you have noticed.
In your camera roll and notes
- Your unedited photo and the retouched version.
- Notes on exactly what you changed, and on which teeth.
- Whether you also changed tooth colour or length.
- A current list of your health conditions and medications.
A pale blue chair and tray arm, and a ribbed planter by striped blinds.
The part no app shows
Real treatment involves real tissue.
Treated gum is numbed with local anaesthetic, keeping the procedure comfortable. What you feel in the days after differs according to how many teeth were reshaped and whether bone needed attention.
No embarrassment
Showing an edited selfie is a perfectly good way of saying what you hope to change.
The numbing step
Local anaesthetic goes in before work begins on the margins that were marked.
Later on
You receive personal directions and comfort measures, adjusted for how much work was done.
No instant preview here
It looks worse before it looks finished.
A screen shows a clean result at once, whereas gum tissue doesn’t. For the first few days it may be red, swollen or irregular, so resist photographing and comparing it to your edit during that period.
01
Hold off on the selfies
Follow your directions for cleaning, rinsing, diet and medicine, and don’t disturb the area to take a look.
02
The clinical check
Tissue closure and plaque control are reviewed at follow-up, with any sutures removed.
03
When it’s worth comparing
Revisit your picture only after the margin has had time to settle and mature.
Concerned about something during healing? Speak to the clinic by calling (204) 338-3003 rather than filling out the form.
Talk with our team
Winnipeg North Dental
Unit-5 2358 Mcphillips Street, Winnipeg, MB R2V 4J6Get directions (opens in a new tab)Beyond the screen
Where Exchange District Residents Are Measured
Winnipeg North Dental at Unit 5, 2358 McPhillips Street, Winnipeg, is where you are assessed and treated.
Filling in this form won’t hold an appointment for you. The clinic writes or calls back to arrange one.
Questions about coverage?
Talk with our team before your visit or learn about CDCP.
A little clarity before your visit
Your questions, answered.
Helpful details about gum contouring in Exchange District.
Ask our teamCan I show the dentist a photo I edited?
Please do. It is a quick way to communicate your goal, as long as you understand that it starts the conversation and doesn’t predict a result.
Why can’t my gums just go where I drew them?
Gum needs a suitable relationship with the bone beneath it. If the margin goes where the anatomy can’t support it, tissue may drift back toward its old position.
Can you show me what my result would look like?
Photos and marked margins help illustrate the planned change. Ask how closely they can represent your eventual result, since healing varies.
My edit also made my teeth longer. Is that the same thing?
It can be, if gum is covering natural tooth. If the tooth itself is worn, though, removing gum would not restore that length.
Do filters make gums look different?
Lighting, angle and editing can all change how a gumline appears, so it helps that clinical photos and direct measurements are used for planning.
Will people see a change as big as my edit?
Your own smile sets that, along with your lip movement. Ask for a frank view of how visible the proposed change would be in everyday expressions.
How can an Exchange District resident send in an image?
Ask about that when you call (204) 338-3003 or request a visit by form, or simply bring it along to your assessment at the McPhillips Street clinic in Winnipeg.
If your edit changed the teeth
When the picture goes beyond the gum.
Many edits change tooth colour, shape or length as well. These pages describe the treatments behind those changes.
Veneers
Considering cosmetic veneers in Winnipeg? Learn which colour, shape, spacing and symmetry concerns they may address and what planning involves.
Explore serviceTeeth Whitening
Explore professional teeth whitening in Winnipeg for lifting stains and brightening your smile, including candidacy, shade goals and sensitivity.
Explore serviceTooth Reshaping
Learn how conservative tooth reshaping in Winnipeg can smooth small chips, uneven edges or minor shape differences, including candidacy and enamel limits.
Explore serviceHave an urgent concern? Call (204) 338-3003 to discuss availability.
Bring the picture along
Find out how much of it can be real.
Tell Winnipeg North Dental what you changed in your photo and request an assessment. The clinic will write or call to discuss times.