Cupar method for the correction of excessive gummy smile

Gummy smile is a special aesthetic problem, common to many people. Its main characteristic is the excessive display of gingival tissue, above the necks of the teeth, when smiling. Among the major factors associated with gummy smile are delayed passive eruption, hyper functional upper lip elevator muscles and skeletal disorders caused during the development of the maxilla. The treatment is causative; it aims at treating individual aetiological factors and involves periodontal plastic surgery, orthodontic treatment, prosthetic rehabilitation and botulinum toxin injections into the elevator muscles of the upper lip. Anterior maxillary alveolar osteotomy is performed by Oral-Maxillofacial Surgeons to treat gummy smile, in cases where skeletal disorders and, especially, maxillary protrusion are the aetiological factor. The present paper focuses on the Cupar method and its use in patients with gummy smile. The Cupar method is a relatively simple and uneventful procedure used to perform anterior maxillary alveolar osteotomy.