Veneers or Other Option to Close Remaining Space Post Braces

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#1 Post by **KLC** » Thu Apr 08, 2010 5:22 pm

Hi There,

I have been in braces for almost two years and believe that my time might be coming to an end soon! I had to get 4 teeth pulled (one on each side and top and bottom) to make room due to overcrowding.

The spaces from where the teeth were pulled have closed up. Unfortunately my top teeth are all different sizes and are wider on top of the tooth than they are on the bottom of the tooth so though the holes are closed up at the gum line from where the teeth were removed, there is still space towards the bottom of each tooth. My ortho said there wasn't much he could do about it bc my teeth are different sizes and are wider on top.

I went to the dentist for a cleaning yesterday and she said veneers might be an option or there is something else she could do (sounded like possibly adding something to the tooth to fill in the remaining gaps). I wasn't thrilled about the idea of being in braces for 2 years and then having to do more work (at an extra cost) to get the results I was hoping from with braces. But, at the same time, I didn't go through all of this to not be happy with the end result.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has had the same issue... and, if so, what did you decide to do?

I appreciate any help you can give!

Thank you!

#2 Post by **felicia** » Thu Apr 08, 2010 7:51 pm

your dentist gave you 2 options, veneers or bonding. i would go with bonding because it does not involve damaging your tooth and it's less expensive.

#3 Post by **Snowglobe32** » Thu Apr 08, 2010 8:16 pm

Veneers, depending on where you live, can be very expensive. (I have seen quotes up to $2000 per tooth.) I would look into bonding. A co-worker of mine had a few of her teeth bonded after her braces came off, if I remember correctly if was fairly cheap.

#4 Post by **DrJasonKTam** » Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:17 am

When done properly, veneers will give a better aesthetic result, since the entire surface of the tooth will be uniform. They are more expensive and some tooth surface does need to be removed.

Bonding on teeth can also look great but keep in mind that it is more likely to come off and change colour at a different rate from the other parts of the tooth. In certain situations, there will also be some grinding of the enamel to promote the bonding process.

There are definitely pros and cons of both veneers and bonding. Speak to your dentist to determine which will be the best option for you. Best of luck!

#5 Post by **KLC** » Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:09 am

Thank you all for the information. It's a little disapointing that you go through the whole process of braces and don't get the perfect results you were hoping for but I also know my orthodontist is not a magician. He can't reshape all my teeth so they are all the same size! Big bummer!

I will definitely talk to my dentist once the braces are off. Who knows... maybe I will be happy with the end result without having to do anything!

Thanks again for the information, it's a HUGE help!

#6 Post by **Snowglobe32** » Fri Apr 09, 2010 9:46 am

I know what you mean...at my first ortho consult, not only did he want to do the "expanding" surgery and braces ($13,000 total), after the braces were off he suggested doing veneers on all of my teeth! No thank you! I thought, what is the point of braces if you want to do veneers? It would have cost well over $30,000! For that, I could get dentures, 50x! LOL

Luckily, the ortho I decided to do treatment with, said no surgery and no veneers were needed. And my teeth look fine.

#7 Post by **drrick** » Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:20 am

There are many indications for veneers or other cosmetic dentistry options to be used in conjunction with braces.

One is tooth shape -- as the OP mentions. Braces are great at aligning teeth into the proper positions but do not change tooth shape.

Another is to increase tooth width in case of small teeth. This happens most commonly when a pt has small ( or peg) upper laterals. the braces are used to align the teeth and position them such that veneers can be placed to restore the small teeth to their appropriate size This scenario is somewhat common.

Other reasons include mottling, lots of restorations, poor color teeth that are not suitable for whitening, etc.

As I treat mostly adult patients I actually do a fair number of combination cases where we use braces to improve the result of cosmetic dentistry as described above.

To the OP I would make sure the dentist who is doiung the comsteic dentistry work look at you BEFORE your braces ae debonded. this will still allow time for any tooth position changes that may be requested to make your final result nicer.

#8 Post by **teresa302** » Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:46 pm

Yes I will need bonding or veneers after braces...I have spacing issues, small teeth, etc. I do not have braces yet. I am still undecided on braces

My dentist is pushing veneers he stated they will last longer than bonding. I had consults with three orthos...they all stated I would need bonding/veneers after braces.

I had an option to have a bottom tooth extracted...I would not need bonding or veeners with this option. I did not like the look of this option and I did not want extractions

#9 Post by **rolo** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:04 am

My ortho did some "re shaping" of my teeth, basically a little drilling to even out areas that had worn unevenly, and also IPR to reduce black triangles, I appreciate it's no good if teeth are too small / narrow, but could be worth asking if this could give a good result in your case?

#10 Post by **KLC** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 9:00 am

It's such a relief to know I am not the only one going through this.

drrick- you bring up a great point. Braces are great at aligning teeth but not changing tooth shape. Wish they were great at doing both

rolo- What is IPR?

Thanks again everyone, all your comments and suggestions are a huge help!

#11 Post by **drpotter** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:41 am

My ortho told me on the day of my consult that I'd want to consider veneers or bonding and that towards the end we'll discuss it more since she'll need to leave room. Unfortunately, due to my bite issues my front teeth have been worn down and are noticeably smaller than they should be. The idea of spending even more $$ is pretty painful but on the other hand, I'm going through all this pain and time already, I want to come out on the other side with a nicer smile (even though really I'm doing this to fix my bite issues and crowding, not necessarily for cosmetic reasons).

Luckily I've got a couple years to think and save

.

#12 Post by **rolo** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 1:27 pm

IPR, is (correct me professionals if I am wrong) is basically removing a very small amount on either side of each tooth (1/4 mm?) this can be repeated on the same tooth after a period of time. My ortho gave me a couple of ref articles that indicated no increased rate of decay...but clearly no good on teeth that are too small

#13 Post by **KLC** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 7:08 am

drpotter- It's good that your ortho told you this right up front, wish mine had. It's possible he didn't realize there would be space. Did you just get your braces on? Good luck with your process! Maybe you won't end up needing anything after all when you're all done, fingers crossed!

rolo- Thanks for that explanation, makes total sense! Did you have this done? I'm got big teeth and bigger teeth so it shouldn't be an issue for me haha!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

#14 Post by **drpotter** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 7:19 am

Yup, braced a few weeks ago. She said it's up to me, the teeth are definitely smaller (it's noticeable when I smile if you know what you're looking for), nothing will change that, but it wouldn't be 100% necessary. They're pretty worn down though so I'm leaning in that direction. My dentist and I are going to have a chat probably next cleaning about costs and options. I'm not out for that hollywood perfect smile, but that amount of wearing down of the tooth has probably affected the structural integrity in the long run.

Maybe your teeth just weren't as obvious that those changes would be necessary (not until seeing them all straight) or your ortho was really focusing on the bite not cosmetics.