Botox in periodontics - Exploring new avenues

Abstract

From a periodontal point of view, various factors contribute to facial aesthetics. In the recent past, studies have revealed that excessive gingival display is a factor that influences an individual’ smile line. Some literature exists to support that more than excessive gingival display of more than 3mm is considered unaesthetic and termed a ‘gummy smile’ (GS). The prevalence of 'gummy smile’ has been 10% and to be more common in females. Gingival hyperplasia altered passive eruption, vertical maxillary excess, and upper-lip hypermobility can all result in excessive gingival display when a patient smile.To select the correct treatment protocol, accurate diagnosis is essential. Various techniques have been used to treat gummy smile which includes surgical and non-surgical methods. Recently a non-surgical method using Botulinum toxin gained popularity considering that the method is minimally invasive.