Introduction: gummy smile is defined as a non-pathological condition that causes aesthetic disharmony in which more than 3 mm of gingival tissue is present when smiling. The smile is an essential aesthetic component of the face and significantly determines the perception of beauty and personality of each person. Objective: to detail the current information related to the gingival smile, description, etiology, epidemiology, evaluation, treatment and prognosis. Methodology: a total of 42 articles were analyzed in this review, including review and original articles, as well as clinical cases, of which 34 bibliographies were used because the other articles were not relevant to this study. The sources of information were PubMed, Google Scholar and Cochrane; the terms used to search for information in Spanish, Portuguese and English were: gingival smile, gingival hyperplasia, maxillary excess, orthognathic surgery. Results: Gummy smile presents a prevalence between 10.5% and 29% of young adults, being more frequent in women, and this prevalence is reduced with age due to the drooping of the upper and lower lips, which reduces the exposure of the gingiva and upper incisors. The perception of excessive gingival display is subject to cultural and ethnic preferences, showing that the amount of gingiva presented that is found to be unaesthetic or excessive is relative and changes between men and women. Conclusions: the smile is a common human expression that represents multiple feelings, as well as an essential esthetic component of the face and significantly determines the perception of beauty and personality of each person. The gummy smile is a non-pathological condition that causes aesthetic disharmony in which more than 3 mm of gingival tissue is present when smiling. A gummy smile can usually have repercussions in the perception and psychosocial behavior of the affected individual. The etiology of the gummy smile presents several factors, which usually manifest themselves at the same time. Treatment should be targeted according to the origin of the condition. Among the less invasive treatment alternatives are botulinum toxin injection and hyaluronic acid injection. The surgical repertoire includes gingivectomy, modified lip repositioning and orthognathic surgery.