Periodontics & Gum Recontouring

Serving Northern Virginia including Oakton, Fairfax, Reston, Alexandria, Arlington and Washington D.C.

One of the services we are glad to offer you is laser dentistry. Our soft tissue laser is a subtle and powerful tool and we can use it to reshape your gums. A “gummy” smile can be an embarrassment, making your teeth look too short, like a child’s smile.

In days gone by, dentists used to use a scalpel and do gum surgery to correct a gummy smile. Now it’s a quick and easy procedure with virtually no recovery time.

Advantages of the soft tissue laser

A gummy smile is created when gum tissue extends too far along the tooth surfaces. All that Periodontist Dr. Chung needs to do is vaporize tiny pieces of it to reveal more of your teeth. This is a simple procedure because:

Little or no local anesthetic is needed. If you would like it, that’s fine. If you would also like a bit of sedation to help with anxiety, we offer that too.
The laser is very precise, with a small, directed beam. Dr. Chung controls its settings to remove only the gum tissue that is necessary to remove, and no more.
The laser seals gum tissue as it works, thus preventing bleeding, which in turn prevents infection.
There is no cutting done. The laser directs a controlled amount of heat to a pre-determined depth, which breaks the connections between gum tissue cells. This causes those cells to disappear into the air – they’re vaporized.
There is no burning of any damage to the teeth or gums.

After your treatment, you can return to your day’s activities. The results are instantly visible and will make an enormous difference in your smile. Please read more on our Periodontics and Gum Recontouring Questions page.

We like to see only two or three patients each day, so we can give you our full attention and make sure you are comfortable. We like you to know about the procedures you are having and are very happy to answer all of your cosmetic dentistry questions. To schedule your gum recontouring consultation, please call or email our periodontist.

We serve Oakton, Vienna, McLean, Great Falls, Tyson’s Corner, Reston, Alexandria, Arlington, Herndon, Fairfax, Falls Church, Chantilly, Centreville, Alexandria, Arlington, Washington D.C. and the Northern Virginia area.