Re-shaping uneven teeth

Tooth contouring and re-shaping the teeth.

Uneven teeth can be caused by many reasons. Teeth may be in the wrong position due to tooth crowding or tooth loss creating gaps, grinding of the teeth (bruxism) which may flatten teeth edges or create wear facets, acid erosion which is very common now due to excessive use of fizzy drinks, sports drinks and alcopops which cause the tooth edges to thin and weaken, and trauma to the teeth caused by accidents. Tooth edges may then chip away, or not sit neatly aligned. There are various ways of improving this. Here we focus on the simplest option.

Tooth contouring

Tooth contouring is a way to reshape the edges of your teeth to make them look neater and better aligned. This is done by shaving away minimal amounts of tooth at the edges to improve the smile line.
It shouldn’t be uncomfortable and can be done without any pain relief. It’s a bit like filing your nails lets say!

Case study

This young lady presented as shown. One of her front teeth is noticeably longer than the other, and not correctly aligned. She had had orthodontics in the past, which is having braces fixed to the teeth to re-align them, but didn’t finish the treatment as she found it uncomfortable.
We had discussed ways of treating this problem. This included orthodontics again, or with the use of crowns and veneers which involve using a laboratory to make false tooth surfaces or crowns of teeth to improve the look. These methods may be time consuming and involve removing a quantitiy of healthy tooth tissue. Procedures such as these can take at least two visits and can be expensive to the patient. We feel that it is often better to try the easiest solution first.

As in the above photo, it was pretty obvious to the patient that one tooth is too long and therefore it was an easy decision to shorten the tooth. In some cases, it can give a better result if the adjecent tooth is lengthened. This can be done by simply glueing on a matching piece of tooth coloured filling, or by using dental veneers.

So after discussing all available options, it was decided to reshape the edges of the teeth to make them look more even.  It took 30 minutes and cost only £92. The lady was very happy with the end result.

Tooth contouring is one of the many forms of cosmetic dentistry we can do here at Mike allens dental practice.  It’s always optional, and just a personal choice.  We like to make patients aware of our capabilites but would never suggest it should be done when the mouth is ultimately healthy!  Other cosmetic options available are teeth whitening, crown, bridge and veneer work.

Please make an appointment at our Burton based practiced for any further information on any of our cosmetic dentistry options.