Abstract:
Objective: Modified surgical lip repositioning (MLR) is a conservative method for correcting gummy smile
(GS). However, its long-term evaluation in the prevention of relapse following lip repositioning surgeries
remains questionable. This long-term study was therefore conducted to assess MLR with and without an
adjunctive internal dual muscle traction approach (iMTA) in the treatment of GS.
Methods: This study was performed on 20 cases with GS. They were randomly and equally distributed to
be treated either by MLR alone (Control) or augmented with iMTA (Test). Participants were assessed for
GS reduction at 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. The patient’s satisfaction scores were assessed at 12
months in both groups.
Results: The control participants revealed in a remarkable decrease in gingival exposure (2.7 mm ± 0.48)
(P-value ≤ 0.05), while the test ones demonstrated a more significant reduction in GS (1.6 mm ± 0.52) (P-
value ≤ 0.05). Satisfaction scores were significantly reported in the test group (9.3 ± 0.78 when compared
to the control group (7.8 ± 1.3), (P-value ≤ 0.05).
Conclusions:Within the limits ofthis study, our long-term results revealed that MLR is an effective method
for treating GS, while iMTA offered more stable results at 12 months when used as an adjunct to MLR.
© 2021 Asian AOMS, ASOMP, JSOP, JSOMS, JSOM, and JAMI. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
