Sometimes the teeth are quite small in relation to the gum tissue. This can create an unattractive "gummy smile". An uneven gum line can also be distracting. Aesthetic crown lengthening is a surgical procedure to correct a “gummy smile,” or to make the teeth appear longer. It is aesthetically driven and usually requires crown lengthening on the just the buccal surface of the teeth in question.
In this case, the patient had orthodontic treatment (braces) and the teeth are nice and straight. But one tooth's crown were much shorter than the same tooth on the other side. These teeth are next to each other and didn't look good aesthetically. Thus we performed this cosmetic procedure under a local anesthetic to achieve a satisfactory result.
It does not require any additional post-operative care. While crown lengthening patients can return to work and begin eating soft foods the day after surgery, full recovery of the gum tissue generally takes one or two weeks.