A new technique is proposed in this study to correct the gummy smile (GS) without myotomy, combining lip repositioning with the insertion of polyester threads at the surgical site to ac as a physical barrier and control relapse. 11 patients were clinically assessed (30.2 + 7.43 years old, 90.9% females and 9.10% males). All patients presented gingival display(GD) greater than 4mm. Hyper mobile upperlip (HUL), vertical maxillary excess (VME)+HUL ,altered passive eruption(APE)+HUL and VME + APE were the etiologies identified. Three polyester threads were inserted in each patient one month after the surgery. The GS was measured before,6,and 12monthsafterthesurgery.The results show eda reduction in the mean GD of the patients,4.42mm after 6 months (p-value=0.000) and 4.13mm after12 months (p-value=0.000). The largest relapse was 0.29 mm and was not statistically significant (p-value=0.07). Fried mantest with pair wise comparisons wasused todetermine the existence of statistically significant differences in GD between the periods analyzed. The results showed that the proposed technique was successful in treating GS, presenting significant reductions in the GD 12months after surgery and controlling the relapse.
Clinical Significance: Promote the correction of a gummy smile through a minimally in vasive surgical procedure, with a high level of a esthetic acceptance by the patients and with biological stability.
Keywords: Gummy smile, Lip repositioning, Relapse, Surgical procedure, Polyester threads