Gummy Smile: What Wrinkle Relaxer Can (and Can't) Do for Your Smile
You catch a candid photo a friend just took, laugh at something during a meeting, or smile at yourself in the mirror — and there it is again: more gum than tooth above your top teeth. If you've quietly searched “gummy smile treatment near me” from Henderson or Las Vegas hoping for a nonsurgical option, you're asking a genuinely common question. A gummy smile, clinically called excessive gingival display, is one of the most frequent smile concerns patients bring up in consultations — and for one specific type, a small, precisely placed dose of Wrinkle Relaxer (botulinum toxin) can make a meaningful difference without surgery or downtime.
What Counts as a “Gummy” Smile?
Clinically, most researchers define a gummy smile as more than 3 to 4 millimeters of gum tissue visible above the upper teeth during a full smile. Below that, it's normal smile variation. Above it, patients often feel self-conscious in photos or on camera — even though nothing is actually wrong with their teeth. The reassuring part: a gummy smile is common, well studied, and, depending on its cause, often manageable without surgery.
What's Actually Causing Yours?
Not every gummy smile has the same cause, and that matters, because Wrinkle Relaxer only helps one specific type. The most common contributing factors include:
• Hyperactive upper lip elevator muscles: the lip-lifting muscles contract more forcefully or travel farther than average. This is the type Wrinkle Relaxer treats.
• A naturally short or hypermobile upper lip: regardless of muscle strength, a shorter or more mobile lip simply rises higher during a full smile.
• Vertical maxillary excess: the upper jawbone is longer than average — a skeletal cause needing orthodontic or surgical evaluation, not injectables.
• Altered passive eruption (short clinical crowns): gum tissue covers more of the tooth than it should — usually addressed with a gum-contouring procedure, not Wrinkle Relaxer.
• Dentoalveolar extrusion: the teeth and surrounding bone have erupted farther than average.
Many patients have some combination of these, which is exactly why an in-person evaluation — not a quick look at a selfie — is the only reliable way to know whether Wrinkle Relaxer is likely to help.
How Wrinkle Relaxer Treats a Muscle-Driven Gummy Smile
When you smile, three small muscles — the levator labii superioris, levator labii superioris alaeque nasi, and zygomaticus minor — contract together to lift your upper lip. In a muscle-driven gummy smile, they pull the lip higher than average, uncovering more gum. A very small amount of Wrinkle Relaxer, injected where these muscles converge — the “Yonsei point” in the research literature — partially, not completely, softens that contraction. The lip still moves and the smile still looks natural; it just doesn't lift quite as high.
Simplified for patient education, based on the lip-elevator muscle mechanisms described in the gummy-smile research cited below.
What the Research Shows
Because a gummy smile sits at the intersection of dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and cosmetic injectables, most of the strongest research on this specific use of Wrinkle Relaxer comes from dental and surgical journals rather than dermatology literature. Here's what recent reviews and trials have found:
• 2023 systematic review & meta-analysis: Gingival display dropped an average of 3.22 mm at 2 weeks, with 2.70 mm still measurable at 3 months, across a meta-analysis of 15 studies (213 patients). Complications were infrequent and mild — temporary bruising, swelling, or slight smile asymmetry (Rojo-Sanchis et al., Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2023).
• 2024 dose & injection-site review: A review of 13 controlled trials confirmed the same three muscles as the primary injection targets, with effects typically lasting 12–24 weeks and most patients' gum show reduced to 3 mm or less (Wang et al., Toxicon, 2024).
• Yonsei-point randomized controlled trial: In 49 patients, injecting one central point versus two separate points around the lip proved equally effective, with benefits sustained through 24 weeks and fading toward baseline by 48 weeks — useful context for touch-up timing (Gong et al., Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2024).
Worth being direct about the evidence: most published studies are small (often under 100 patients), come from a handful of research groups, and measure results in millimeters of visible gum rather than patient-reported satisfaction alone. Results vary depending on how much of a gummy smile is muscle-driven versus skeletal or dental in origin, and no reputable provider can guarantee an exact outcome. This is general health information, not personalized medical advice — an in-person consultation is the only reliable way to know what to expect for your smile.
Are You a Good Candidate?
Good candidates for Wrinkle Relaxer typically have:
• Roughly 3 mm or more of visible gum at a full smile, with the excess concentrated at the front teeth.
• A smile where the upper lip lifts noticeably higher and faster than the lower face — a sign the elevator muscles are doing more of the work than average.
• General good health, no known allergy to botulinum toxin, and realistic expectations about a temporary result.
A dental or surgical referral may be a better fit instead of — or alongside — Wrinkle Relaxer if:
• Your gum show is mainly a longer upper jawbone (vertical maxillary excess), which usually calls for orthodontic or oral surgery evaluation.
• Your teeth look short because gum tissue covers too much of the crown (altered passive eruption), which typically responds better to gum contouring.
• You are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a diagnosed neuromuscular condition affecting muscle or nerve function.
What to Expect: A Realistic Timeline
• Day of treatment: A few small injections around the upper lip; a few minutes, minimal discomfort, no real downtime.
• Days 3–14: Muscle activity gradually decreases as the treatment takes effect.
• Weeks 2–4: Peak effect — the reduction in gum show is usually most noticeable now.
• Months 3–6: Effect gradually fades as muscle activity returns (matching the 12–24 week duration seen above); a touch-up maintains results.
A Note for Henderson and Las Vegas Patients
Because a muscle-driven gummy smile responds to a conservative, reversible treatment, it's one of the more approachable smile concerns to address. If you've been searching for gummy smile help in Henderson, Las Vegas, or the surrounding valley, an in-person evaluation can usually tell you within one visit whether Wrinkle Relaxer is realistic for your smile — or whether a referral to a dental specialist is the better first step.
If a gummy smile has been on your mind, the most useful next step isn't more searching — it's an actual look at your smile from someone trained to tell a muscle-driven gummy smile from a skeletal or dental one. Book a consultation at Blanqa Medspa, and we'll walk through your options honestly, including whether Wrinkle Relaxer is likely to help in your case.
About the Author
Bianca Camille Fong, APRN, FNP-BC, is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and the Founder & CEO of Blanqa Medspa and Fong Precision Care in Henderson, NV. She founded Blanqa to bring evidence-based, patient-first aesthetic and wellness care to patients across the Las Vegas valley.
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Sources
Rojo-Sanchis C, Montiel-Company JM, Tarazona-Álvarez B, Haas-Junior OL, Peiró-Guijarro MA, Paredes-Gallardo V, Guijarro-Martínez R. “Non-Surgical Management of the Gingival Smile with Botulinum Toxin A—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2023; 12(4):1433.
Wang X, Zou Y, Yuan M, Huang H, Han X, Gong X. “Dose and injection site of botulinum toxin type A for gummy smile management: A systematic review and bibliometric analysis.” Toxicon, 2024; 249:108058.
Gong X, Tang HN, Zhang AR, Wang Z, Tang ZH, Han XF, Su JZ. “Application of Botulinum Toxin at the Yonsei Point for the Treatment of Gummy Smile: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2024; 153(4):711e–721e.