Ask Dr. Christensen: How long should crown therapy be delayed after crown lengthening?

Dr. Gordon Christensen answers questions from readers and offers his answers based on research, dentists' opinions worldwide, and personal observation.

As he explains in the video, the answer to "How long should crown therapy be delayed after crown lengthening" depends on how extreme the crown lengthening was when it was accomplished initially. If it's going to take longer to heal, then Dr. Christensen would recommend waiting two to three months before going in because it’s going to shrink further.

However, if there are 2-3 mm of free gingiva and it can be removed with a laser, leaving 1 mm of free gingiva, this will heal more quickly, and Dr. Christensen says it's safe to go in within four to six weeks.

So the ultimate answer is, it depends. Dr. Christesen says he would like the gingiva to be quite mature before he goes in and retraumatizes it by placing a crown or veneer, so each dentist should judge based on how extreme the crown lengthening procedure is.

See further explanation and an example in this video from Dr. Christensen.

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