Gum Lift & Gummy Smile Correction in Los Angeles
Your teeth look short. You see more gum than teeth when you smile. The fix is precise gum recontouring, planned by Dr. Marashi to the exact proportions your final smile requires, and performed in partnership with a board-certified periodontist.
The Direct Answer
A gum lift reshapes the gum line so the proper length and proportion of your teeth show when you smile. Dr. Marashi designs the case and the final tooth proportions, then partners with a board-certified periodontist to perform the surgical recontouring to that exact plan. You get specialist-level surgery and restorative-level smile design, coordinated through one office.
A Coordinated, Specialist-Led Approach
Most cosmetic offices have the same generalist plan the gum work and do the gum work. We think that is the wrong way to get a refined result. A gum lift is surgery, and surgery belongs in the hands of a periodontist. Smile design belongs in the hands of the restorative dentist who will be living with the final result.
So Dr. Marashi does the part only he can do, design your final smile proportions, and the periodontist does the part only a surgical specialist should do, the recontouring itself. The two are coordinated to the millimeter, with Dr. Marashi as your single point of contact.
Why Your Teeth Look Short
The natural front tooth has a height-to-width ratio close to 75 to 80 percent. When the gum line sits too low, that ratio collapses, the teeth read as small, and the smile reads as gummy. The teeth aren't actually short, they are just covered. A gum lift uncovers what is already there.
When a Gum Lift Is the Right Answer
- Gummy smile. More than 3 mm of gum showing above the upper teeth.
- Short or square-looking teeth. Adult teeth that never lost their childhood proportion.
- Uneven gum line. One tooth that sits higher or lower than its neighbors.
- Pre-veneer planning. Establishing the correct frame before porcelain is designed.
- Post-orthodontic finishing. Cleaning up an irregular gum line that braces left behind.
The Plan
Consultation & Smile Design with Dr. Marashi ($475)
Photographs, video, and a digital smile analysis. Dr. Marashi maps your ideal gum line against your tooth proportions and lip position, then writes the surgical specifications the periodontist will follow.
Diagnosis
Determines whether the cause is excess gum tissue alone, an over-active upper lip, or bone that needs to be recontoured. Each cause has a different solution.
Recontouring with Our Periodontist Partner
A board-certified periodontist performs the recontouring to Dr. Marashi's exact specifications, typically with a soft-tissue laser under local anesthetic. Single appointment for most cases.
Healing & Restorative Integration
The gum heals to its new contour in two to four weeks. Dr. Marashi reviews the result, then designs any veneers or restorations to the new, correct proportions.
Your New Normal
Properly proportioned teeth. A balanced smile line. The confidence to smile with your lips fully open, in photographs and in real life, because you no longer have to hide the gum that used to show.
Continue Reading from the Smile Journal
Gum Lift Patients Across LA
Patients travel to the Brentwood studio from across the Westside and South Bay for a coordinated, specialist-led gum lift and smile design.
View all service areas →Related Services
Porcelain Veneers
Most often paired with a gum lift for a full smile redesign.
Explore Porcelain Veneers →Cosmetic Dentistry
Whitening, smile makeovers, and full reconstruction options.
Explore Cosmetic Dentistry →Microscope-Precision Dentistry
Surgical magnification for the most accurate restorative work.
Explore Microscope-Precision Dentistry →Everything You Want to Know
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