Black Triangles & Gummy Smiles: Can Invisalign Really Fix Them?!

In this episode of Before and Beyond, Dr Tiffany Tan from Dental Designs Clinic walks through a complete Invisalign plan for a patient presenting with a protruding front tooth, black triangles, and an uneven smile line.

About The Video

Dr Tiffany Tan from Dental Designs Clinic presents a detailed case study of a patient with three distinct smile concerns: a protruding front tooth that has caused an adjacent tooth to shift inward and overlap, visible black triangles between the teeth due to receding gums, and a gummy smile that is clearly noticeable whenever the patient smiles.

She outlines an Invisalign plan incorporating three key techniques: intrusion of the front six teeth to reduce gum display and minimise black triangles, interproximal reduction to reshape the contact surfaces and close the gaps between teeth, and smile curve levelling to create a more symmetrical result. The expected treatment duration is nine months to a year, with the additional time focused on delivering aesthetic improvements beyond basic alignment.

Black triangles, gummy smiles, and protruding teeth are common aesthetic concerns that patients often bring to a cosmetic dentist. This case illustrates how a well-designed Invisalign plan can address all three concerns simultaneously, without the need for separate procedures or multiple treatment phases.

The central technique is intrusion, moving the front six teeth upward by one to two millimetres. This reduces gum display when smiling, levels the gum line, and diminishes the appearance of black triangles. It also reduces the degree to which the upper teeth overlap the lower lip, addressing the protruding sensation directly.

Interproximal reduction complements this by gently reshaping the sides of the teeth, making them less triangular and allowing them to close together more effectively. If small spaces remain after alignment, composite bonding can be considered as a finishing step. A case of this complexity typically takes around nine months to a year to complete.