By Dr. Rita Kanbar. Prosthodontist, Lebanon Dental Studio (Jal el Dib)
A “gummy smile”, clinically called excessive gingival display, means more than three to four millimetres of gum tissue show above the upper teeth when you smile broadly. It is one of the most common cosmetic concerns we hear about at our Jal el Dib clinic, especially from brides, broadcasters, and patients who have been quietly hiding their full smile in photos for years.
The good news is that almost every gummy smile can be improved. The complicated news is that “gummy smile” is not a single condition. It has at least four different causes, and each cause has a different best treatment. Choosing the right option starts with diagnosing why your smile is gummy in the first place.
Why Some Smiles Show More Gum
There are four main reasons we see in clinic, and a smile can have more than one of them at once:
- Short clinical crowns. The teeth look short because gum tissue is covering more of them than it should, often a leftover from delayed gum recession during adolescence. The teeth are actually the right length under the gum.
- Vertical maxillary excess. The upper jaw is slightly longer than average in the vertical dimension, so the teeth and gums sit lower in the face. This is a skeletal cause.
- Hyperactive upper lip. The muscles of the upper lip lift higher than average when you smile, exposing more gum even though the jaw and teeth are normal.
- Altered passive eruption. A developmental condition where the gum line never finished migrating to its mature position over the teeth.
A proper consultation, photos, measurements, and sometimes a smile analysis on a digital scan, tells us which combination is at play.
Option 1: Veneer or Crown Design (Cosmetic Illusion)
When the underlying issue is mild and the rest of the smile is being redesigned anyway, the proportions and length of porcelain veneers or crowns can be designed to balance the visual ratio of tooth-to-gum. We adjust the length of the central incisors, the line of the smile arc, and the way the teeth catch the light to draw the eye to the teeth instead of the gum. This is not “fixing” the gummy smile in a strict sense, it is making it less noticeable through smile-design proportions.
- Performed by: Dr. Rita Kanbar
- Visits: 2–3
- Indication: Mild gummy smile, especially when the patient is already getting veneers or crowns
- Lebanon 2026 cost range: Falls within the veneer or Hollywood smile case cost; not a standalone charge
Option 2: Gum Contouring and Crown Lengthening (Surgical)
When the underlying issue is short clinical crowns or altered passive eruption, the gum is hiding tooth that should be visible, the solution is to reposition the gum line. In its simplest form, this is a gum contouring procedure: the dentist or specialist re-shapes the gum line with a laser or microsurgical instrument, exposing more of the natural tooth.
In more involved cases, the bone underneath the gum also needs to be slightly re-contoured so the gum stays in its new position long-term. This is called crown lengthening, and it is a specialist procedure.
- Performed by: Our periodontist (gum specialist)
- Visits: 1–2 procedures plus 4–6 weeks healing
- Indication: Short clinical crowns, altered passive eruption
This is the most reliable, long-lasting fix for the gum-related causes of a gummy smile.
Option 3: Lip Botox (Hyperactive Upper Lip)
When the cause is a hyperactive upper lip, the muscles pull the lip too high when you smile, a small dose of botulinum toxin can be injected into the levator muscles to reduce the lift. The result is a more relaxed upper lip position when you smile broadly.
This is an aesthetic medicine procedure, not a dental procedure. Our policy at Lebanon Dental Studio is that we do not offer Botox or fillers in-house. Patients who are candidates for the lip Botox option are referred to C.Metric Beauty Dental Clinic in Dbayeh, where the procedure is performed by a plastic surgeon, not by a dentist. Our combined dental and aesthetic care guide explains how we coordinate care between the two clinics.
- Performed by: Plastic surgeon at C.Metric Beauty Dental Clinic, Dbayeh
- Visits: 1 short visit; effect appears within a week
- Effect duration: 3 to 5 months on average; needs maintenance
- Indication: Hyperactive upper lip (and only when this is the dominant cause)
This option is reversible and adjustable, which makes it a good “trial” before considering surgical changes.
Option 4: Orthognathic Surgery (Skeletal Cause)
When the underlying cause is significant vertical maxillary excess, a long upper jaw, the gold-standard correction is orthognathic surgery to surgically shorten and reposition the upper jaw. This is a major procedure, planned and performed by a maxillofacial surgeon, usually in combination with orthodontic treatment before and after the surgery.
We do not perform this in-house. We refer patients with this presentation to a maxillofacial surgeon, coordinate the orthodontic phase with our orthodontist, and complete the cosmetic phase (veneers, crowns or whitening) after the bones have settled.
- Performed by: Maxillofacial surgeon (external referral), with our orthodontist for the alignment phase
- Timeline: 12–24 months total including pre- and post-surgical orthodontics
- Indication: Severe gummy smile with a skeletal cause confirmed on imaging
This is the right answer for a relatively small number of patients, but for those patients it is the only solution that fully and permanently corrects the underlying cause.
How We Decide With You
A consultation for gummy smile correction at our Jal el Dib clinic includes:
- Standardised photos of your smile at rest, in conversation and at full laugh
- Measurement of gum show in millimetres
- Assessment of crown length, gum biotype and lip mobility
- A cone-beam scan or panoramic X-ray if a skeletal cause is suspected
- A written treatment plan that may combine two or three of the options above
In practice, most patients land on a combination, for example, a small amount of crown lengthening by our periodontist plus a veneer redesign for the front teeth, or a lip Botox trial at C.Metric Dbayeh followed by a smile-design phase here. The right combination depends on your diagnosis, your goals, and the trade-offs you are comfortable with.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest way to fix a gummy smile in Lebanon?
For mild cases caused by a hyperactive upper lip, a lip Botox trial at C.Metric Dbayeh is typically the lowest-cost first step. For cases caused by short clinical crowns, gum contouring by our periodontist is a one-time fix that may cost more upfront but lasts indefinitely.
Can veneers alone fix a gummy smile?
For mild cases, smile-design proportions in a veneer case can reduce how much the gummy smile is noticed. For moderate or severe cases, veneers alone will not change the amount of gum showing, they have to be combined with gum contouring or lip treatment.
How long does lip Botox last for a gummy smile?
Typically 3 to 5 months per session. It is fully reversible, which makes it a good option to trial before considering more permanent corrections.
Is gum contouring painful?
The procedure is done under local anaesthetic and is generally well tolerated. There is some mild soreness for a few days afterwards. Most patients are back to normal eating within 48 to 72 hours.
Will the gum grow back after contouring?
When the bone underneath is properly contoured as part of the procedure, the gum line stays in its new position long-term. When only soft-tissue contouring is done, without addressing the bone, the gum can creep back. This is why we typically involve our periodontist rather than treating it as a simple cosmetic trim.
Lebanon Dental Studio · Dr. Rita Kanbar, Prosthodontist · Jal el Dib · ★ 4.9 Book on WhatsApp: +961 71 677 261 Related reading: Combining Dental and Aesthetic Care at C.Metric · Hollywood Smile Cost in Lebanon 2026 · Veneers for Crooked Teeth