Hi everybody!

New to the board :).

I went to my first consultation this morning. I have tiny triangular teeth on both sides of my front teeth. My orthodontist says that they can put something on my teeth (ceramic or porcelain?) to make it look better. I was kind of worrying that they will chip or fall off in the future, but he said it will last for years (well, still not forever). Anyone have this kind of experience? How long will they last? What will happen if they actually fall off?

Oh, a brief intro of myself: I'm gonna be 27 at the end of this month. Never had braces before. English is not my first language, so sorry if there's any weirdness in my language usage.

I currently have braces and had this treatment in January, I'd completely recommend it because without it even if you have straight teeth they won't look nice, straight and aligned. So far so good with mine, no chipping etc. I do think you have to be careful and I think my ortho said it lasts about at least 5 years? If they fall off, you'll be left with your good ol' trianglular teeth but you can get them replaced. Because I live in England, I got these put on for free but when they eventually come off, I will have to pay for them to be replaced, not sure how much they are but I'd have to weigh up the pros and cons.

Were they talking veneers or crowns? If so I have read that they usually last 5-10 years. How long they last depends a lot on how well you look after them. One of the things that was a possibility for my teeth was fake teeth to fill in the large gaps in my teeth. In theory no one but me would have noticed that I had too many teeth. But as they wouldn't have been a permanent solution I chose to go with closing the gaps with braces instead.

Good luck to you with whatever you choose to do.

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Ceramic uppers, metal lowers put on March 6 2012 to fix spacing issues and traumatic malocclusion. Estimated treatment time is 24 months.

My dentist put a composite resin on my lower right incisor before I went to ortho consults. I had chipped off my tooth a few times (this has been my second fix... broke off the 1st repiar years ago). She told me orthos would require it to be fixed before braces were applied. I haven't had lower braces applied yet, but I do worry about what may happen to the fix over time.

Thanks for all the replies! I went to another orthodontist for consultation and she mentioned the same thing. My tiny teeth are just too small to look good. What the first doctor mentioned is some kind of "binding" using porcelain or ceramics as I remember. I think its cheaper than veneer and crown (correct me if I'm wrong). Anyway I think I would go for that for now.

Embracing,
I have composite on my front tooth but my dentist did such an amazing job that no one can tell; neither can I unless I put my face close to the mirror. However, after braces, I plan to use porcelain because porcelain does not stain and lasts longer compared to composite; unfortunately, it is also expensive. Word of caution: mnake sure you whiten all your teeth before having composite or porcelain on your teeth.

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I have had composite resin done - it's the least invasive and looks really good. Definitely go for the least invasive method possible that doesn't require grinding down your teeth. Preserve your enamel whenever you can.
As far as keeping things white, good dental hygiene should solve that. You can start your brushing regime with a toothbrush and hot water (no paste at first), then add some baking soda to the toothbrush and brush with that and hot water. Then you can use your regular stuff. And, at the end, rinse with hydrogen peroxide - miracle mouthwash that kills germs and keeps your teeth clean!