In addition to static harmony of the features, facial beauty requires beauty during movement; and the smile is the most important dynamic feature of the face. Although no set pattern of elements constitutes an ideal smile, one necessarey factory
is
that
only a very narrow strip of mucosa be visible above the teeth. A "gummy smile"-in which the gum is visible between the li nad the apex of the incisors -is felt by many patients to be unaesthetic and unpleasant. This unpleasant smile smile is
caused
mainly by a mild maxillary and /or dentoalveolar protrusion and a real or relatively short upper lip, that leaves a wide gingival area exposed above the dentoalveolar line. For decades, many methods have been devised for the correction of the
gummy
smile including mucosal resection, myectomy and partial resection of the levator labii superiois muscle, the implant spacer technique, and osseous shortening of the alveolarmaxillary complex in cases of dentomaxillary protrusion
We have operated on two cases of gummy smile with paranasal depression using a new simple method. The bilateral ala base pedicled levator labii superioris muscle flaps were elevated and their distal portion was folded and placed under the ala
base
for
correction of the paranasal depression. The result of surgery was satisfactory with no recurrence of gummy smile and good maintenance of paranasal augmentation for a follow up period of three months.
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