Clinical Use of GingivalStat and Block-Out Resin in Esthetic Crown Lengthening: A Case Report

Smile aesthetics play a fundamental role in facial harmony and in the patient’s emotional self-perception. In dentistry, discrepancies in the tooth-gingiva ratio represent both clinical and aesthetic challenges. One of the most frequent causes of a gummy smile is Altered Passive Eruption (APE), a condition characterized by the incisal positioning of the gingival margin in relation to the Cementoenamel Junction (CEJ), resulting in the appearance of short clinical crowns due to excessive gingival display. Several factors may contribute to this condition, including thick gingival biotype, developmental anomalies of the alveolar bone, genetic predisposition and certain systemic disorders. The treatment of choice is clinical crown lengthening, a surgical procedure that repositions the gingival margin apically through soft tissue resection and, in many cases, controlled osseous remodeling, while always respecting the biological width. Although this technique has proven effective, one of its main limitations is gingival rebound-coronal migration of the soft tissue during the postoperative period-which can compromise the aesthetic outcome. This phenomenon is more frequent in patients with thick periodontal biotypes. To improve the stability of the gingival contour during healing, adjunctive strategies have been proposed, such as the use of temporary gingival stabilizers made from flowable resin or block-out materials. Clinical case: A 28-year-old healthy female patient (ASA I) with no relevant medical history. After a thorough periodontal evaluation and the exclusion of active periodontal disease, she was deemed suitable for an aesthetic crown lengthening procedure. The application of a temporary gingival barrier using block-out resin as an adjunct to anterior crown lengthening yielded clinically stable results. At the 12-month follow-up, the gingival margin maintained its position without evidence of rebound or relapse, preserving a favorable aesthetic outcome. Conclusion: The combination of aesthetic crown lengthening with the application of a temporary resin stabilizer proved to be an effective technique for maintaining gingival margin stability during the first postoperative year. However, long-term follow-up is recommended to assess soft tissue stability over time and to confirm the predictability of this therapeutic strategy.