Lip repositioning surgery for correction of excessive gingival display

Esthetic demands have considerably increased over the years in routine clinical practice. A pleasant smile can give supreme confidence to an individuals personality. However, a perfect smile is dictated by a perfect balance of the white (teeth) and pink (gingival) display. This balance can be managed different treatment modalities, which is based on proper diagnosis. This case report demonstrates a successful management of gummy smile with a lip-repositioning procedure in a patient with an incompetent upper lip. This was accomplished by removing a partial thickness strip of mucosa from the maxillary buccal vestibule and suturing the lip mucosa to the mucogingival line. This resulted in a narrower vestibule and restricted muscle pull, thereby resulting incompetent lips and reduced gingival display during smiling.