A specialist procedure · not a general trim
If your gums show too much when you smile, sit unevenly across your teeth, or make healthy teeth look short, gum contouring corrects it — usually in a single visit. At Arasu Dental Care, our periodontist reshapes the gum line with a soft-tissue laser, exposing more of your natural tooth and restoring the balance between your gums, teeth, and lips. Gum contouring — also called gum reshaping or gingival sculpting — is the right choice when the gum tissue itself is the problem: a gummy smile, an uneven gum line after braces, or gums that need refining before veneers or a smile design. When the cause lies elsewhere — a short upper lip, jaw position, or gum recession — we tell you honestly at the consultation and point you to the treatment that will actually work.
Medically reviewed by the Arasu Dental Care clinical team · Last reviewed July 2026
Where To Start
You are likely a good candidate if your teeth and gums are healthy but the gum line is what holds your smile back. These are the signs we treat most often.

Clinically, showing more than 3 mm of gum when you smile counts as excessive gingival display. Research suggests around 10% of adults aged 20–30 have it, and it is roughly twice as common in women — so if this is you, you are far from alone.

Gums that sit higher on one tooth and lower on the next make even well-aligned teeth look mismatched. Reshaping restores the symmetry so the line reads as one clean curve across your smile.

Orthodontic treatment and some blood-pressure, seizure and immune medications can cause tissue to creep over the teeth. We reshape it back — and if medication is the driver, we flag it for review with your physician first.

An even gum line is the frame the restorations sit in. We often contour first as step one of smile designing — so the veneers or crowns that follow sit in a balanced setting.
Part of doing this well is knowing when not to do it. If any of these is the real cause, contouring won't fix it — and we'll route you to the treatment that will.
If your gums have pulled back and your teeth look too long, the problem is recession, which calls for gum grafting — adding tissue rather than removing it.
If there is active gum infection, we treat the gum disease first — cosmetic work on inflamed tissue does not hold.
If a gummy smile comes from jaw growth or lip movement rather than the tissue, trimming gum won't fix it — orthodontic correction is the right route.
The Process
Gum contouring at Arasu Dental Care is performed by — our periodontist, who holds an Associate Fellowship in Laser Dentistry from the World Clinical Laser Institute (WCLI), USA. It is a procedure she performs routinely, completed in a single visit of roughly 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on how many teeth are involved.
We photograph and assess your gum-to-tooth ratio, lip line and facial proportions, and plan the new gum line digitally. You see the intended result before anything is touched.
The new line is drawn on the tissue with a fine surgical pen. You review it in the mirror and approve it — the shape is agreed before we begin, not after.
The area is fully numbed; you feel pressure, not pain, during the procedure. For anxious patients, sedation options are available — mention it when you book.
The soft-tissue laser removes and sculpts the excess tissue, sealing as it works — which is why bleeding is minimal and healing is quicker than with conventional surgery.
Where the underlying bone sits too high, trimming tissue alone lets the gum grow back. We check the bone level in every case and recontour it where needed, so the new line stays where we put it.
The line is smoothed, checked for symmetry, and you go home the same day with clear aftercare instructions.
The Options
We use the laser as our default for cosmetic reshaping, and conventional instruments where deeper recontouring with bone work is planned. Here is the honest comparison.
| Laser contouring | Conventional (scalpel) | |
|---|---|---|
| Bleeding | Minimal — the laser seals tissue as it shapes | More; sutures sometimes needed |
| Healing | Tissue typically settles within about a week | Usually one to two weeks |
| Comfort afterwards | Mild tenderness for a day or two | Soreness tends to last longer |
| Precision | Fine, millimetre-level control | Depends more on hand instrumentation |
| When we choose it | Cosmetic reshaping, gummy smile, uneven line | Cases needing significant bone recontouring |
After Your Visit
Recovery is genuinely light for most patients — this is one of the smaller cosmetic procedures we do. Expect mild tenderness for two to three days, managed with ordinary pain relief. We review you at one week; the tissue settles fully over one to three weeks depending on how much reshaping was done. Individual healing times vary with the extent of treatment and your overall gum health.
Straight Answers
A straight answer matters more here than a reassuring one — because knowing the limits up front is how your expectations and your result end up matching.
Regrowth is uncommon when the underlying bone is recontoured where needed. If only the tissue is trimmed in a case that needed bone work, some regrowth is possible — which is exactly why we assess bone in every case rather than treating this as a cosmetic trim.
Contouring changes your gum line — not the shape, colour or alignment of the teeth themselves. If those bother you too, we'll show you how contouring pairs with whitening, veneers, or a full smile design.
Newly exposed tooth surface can feel sensitive to hot and cold for a few weeks. It settles on its own in almost all cases — and we'll tell you what to expect before we begin.
Receding gums need grafting; a hypermobile lip or jaw-growth cause needs orthodontic or other management. We will route you correctly rather than sell you the wrong procedure.
Cost
The fee depends mainly on how many teeth we reshape, whether laser or conventional technique suits your case, and whether bone recontouring is needed. These are indicative ranges — your exact fee is confirmed at the consultation after we examine your gums.
| Treatment | Indicative cost |
|---|---|
| Single tooth reshaping | ₹1,500 – ₹5,000 |
| Front teeth / full smile zone (one arch) | ₹8,000 – ₹25,000 |
| Laser gum contouring | Moderately higher · faster healing |
| As part of a smile makeover | Quoted within the plan |
Want a fixed quote for your case? A consultation examines your gum line, shows you the planned result, and gives you the exact fee before anything begins — call R.S. Puram on +91 88380 22157 or Saibaba Colony on +91 74491 88777, open 10 AM–8:30 PM every day.
Get Started
Tell us a little about your smile and pick a time that suits you. We start with an honest diagnosis — and tell you plainly whether contouring is right, or whether grafting, gum treatment or orthodontics is the better route.
Why Arasu
Because here it is a specialist procedure, not a general trim. Your contouring is performed by our periodontist — a gum specialist with a laser dentistry fellowship from the WCLI, USA — using the same laser techniques she applies across our periodontal treatments. And because a gummy smile has more than one possible cause, having our founder and orthodontist under the same roof means the diagnosis comes before the procedure.
Your reshaping is performed by — a gum specialist with a WCLI (USA) laser dentistry fellowship — using the soft-tissue laser techniques she applies across our periodontal care.
A gummy smile has more than one cause. With both a periodontist and an orthodontist in-house, we diagnose the actual cause first — so you get the treatment your smile really needs, not the one that's easiest to sell.
The new gum line is designed, drawn and approved by you in the mirror first. That is how we keep outcomes predictable — and why patients preparing for veneers and smile makeovers start here.
R.S. Puram and Saibaba Colony are open 10 AM – 8:30 PM, all seven days — so your consultation and procedure fit around work, not the other way round.
Patient Reviews
Always felt my smile was too gummy. The periodontist marked the new line and let me approve it in the mirror before starting — laser, done in one sitting. Barely any discomfort afterwards.
My gum line was uneven after braces years ago. They reshaped it and even checked the bone level so it wouldn't grow back. Healed within a week — very happy with how even it looks now.
Went in thinking I needed contouring; they were honest that mine was recession and needed grafting instead. Appreciated that they didn't just do the easy procedure to take my money.
Had contouring before my veneers as part of a smile makeover. Doing the gum work first made the final result look so much more balanced. Clear explanation at every step.
FAQs
No — the area is fully numbed with local anaesthesia, so you feel pressure rather than pain during the procedure. Afterwards, expect mild tenderness for two to three days, managed with ordinary pain relief. Sedation options are available if dental anxiety is a concern.
Between 30 minutes and 2 hours, in a single visit, depending on how many teeth are involved. You go home the same day.
It is uncommon when the procedure is done properly. Regrowth mainly happens when the underlying bone needed recontouring and only the tissue was trimmed — which is why we assess the bone level in every case before we shape.
Most patients are back to their normal routine within a day or two. The gum tissue itself settles over one to three weeks, depending on the extent of reshaping. Healing times vary from person to person.
Yes — and it often should be. Contouring sets the frame; veneers, whitening, or a smile design then refine the teeth within it. When treatments are combined, we sequence the gum work first.
Yes. Laser contouring is our default technique for cosmetic reshaping, performed by our periodontist, who holds a WCLI (USA) laser dentistry fellowship. The laser seals as it works, so there is minimal bleeding and faster healing than conventional surgery.
Usually not when the procedure is purely cosmetic. If reshaping forms part of periodontal (gum disease) treatment, partial coverage may apply — bring your policy details and we will help you check.
They will look more proportionate — which usually means slightly longer, because more of the natural tooth is visible. You approve the planned gum line in the mirror before we begin, so the final proportion is never a surprise.
Book your gum contouring consultation
Book at whichever branch is closer — same specialists, same standard of care. We'll examine your gum line, show you the planned result, and give you the exact fee before anything begins. Open 10 AM – 8:30 PM, all week · WhatsApp +91 96007 56297.