Mini-implants for the management of a gummy smile

This case report describes the treatment of a skeletal Class I malocclusion with a convex profile, involving a gummy smile with incompetent lips. The maxillary incisors were intruded and retracted with a nickel-titanium closed-coil spring anchored to a mini-implant, which were placed in the maxillary posterior and anterior areas. Mini-implants changed the left canine and molar relationship from Class II to Class I and resolved the gummy smile without extruding the maxillary molars or opening the mandible. The treatment was workable and simple, and the active period was 32 months. The patient received a satisfactory occlusion and an attractive smile.