What should I do about my teeth

[user400]

Hi

I’m 17 and have an overbite as you can maybe tell by my photos. I have also attached a photo of the smile I would like to have.


I have braces, but if I’m quite honest I don’t think they’ll sort my overbite fully and I really want a nice wide smile like the one I have shown with the other image. If I got jaw surgery, could they push my jaw back to the correct position and then widen the jaw to create a wider smile? Is there a quick way to file down the two front teeth and make them straight? Would they have to pull them out and put them back in again?

Thanks

 

[Busybee]

Your own teeth look nice and stronger than the ones in the picture that you say are a perfect smile. The picture shows a woman's teeth that have clearly been tampered with to make them look round at the ends & bleached or photo-shopped. The two central incisors look very worn and as she ages they will wear down more and she won't have much biting surface on her incisors. She also won't have much lip support. But whether that affects her appearance will depend on the rest of the features and her bone structure. She looks as though she has veneers at the side. Her teeth have been built out to make that wider look.

It is not simply a case of changing your teeth to look like someone else's. You have nice healthy teeth and a great smile. The least invasive method to achieve more width is to have some composite veneers as they don't have to remove any tooth for that. Don't whatever you do go for porcelain veneers as they have all sorts of potential problems and can fall off or break. Not all dentists are good at composite veneers. There's an art to it. Some try to sell porcelain veneers as they make money from it and it's easy because someone else does the art work.

Once you have cosmetic work you may still be unsatisfied and that will cause a vicious cycle. Everyone has different bone structure and no dental surgeon should move your jaw for such a reason. You haven't finished growing yet and your jaw will widen as you reach maturity. Give it a chance to do that.

 

[user400]

Your own teeth look nice and stronger than the ones in the picture that you say are a perfect smile. The picture shows a woman's teeth that have clearly been tampered with to make them look round at the ends & bleached or photo-shopped. The two central incisors look very worn and as she ages they will wear down more and she won't have much biting surface on her incisors. She also won't have much lip support. But whether that affects her appearance will depend on the rest of the features and her bone structure. She looks as though she has veneers at the side. Her teeth have been built out to make that wider look.

It is not simply a case of changing your teeth to look like someone else's. You have nice healthy teeth and a great smile. The least invasive method to achieve more width is to have some composite veneers as they don't have to remove any tooth for that. Don't whatever you do go for porcelain veneers as they have all sorts of potential problems and can fall off or break. Not all dentists are good at composite veneers. There's an art to it. Some try to sell porcelain veneers as they make money from it and it's easy because someone else does the art work.

Once you have cosmetic work you may still be unsatisfied and that will cause a vicious cycle. Everyone has different bone structure and no dental surgeon should move your jaw for such a reason. You haven't finished growing yet and your jaw will widen as you reach maturity. Give it a chance to do that.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

I have looked into veneers, obviously you can’t really give me an accurate answer but do you think my smile would look like / look similar the one I got of google images if I got veneers? They are pretty expensive but I suppose it gives me a nice smile without going through surgery!

 

[Busybee]

They may give you a wider smile but it wouldn't look like the one in the picture. Your teeth & bone structure are completely different and having teeth just like the photo would make you look awful. If you decide to go ahead with veneers don't go for porcelain (go for composite) and don't touch your front teeth. You cannot replace the dental material they remove to place porcelain veneers. You won't understand how bad that feels like until it happens. The composite ones don't need any tooth material to be removed. But any cosmetic dental work is going to alter the enamel even composite. Anything you have done can ruin your teeth.