Where the heck did my front teeth go?? PICS

[LittleSern]

I'm kind of freaking out. My braces are supposed to come off in a few weeks and I hate my teeth right now. Looking at older photos of my teeth from months ago, my front teeth look so much bigger and longer. Now they look way too short. I don't understand where the heck they went. I thought that when you intrude teeth the gum line is supposed to move up with the teeth. I get that my gums may be a little swollen but it seems like they are way too short even considering that.

On top of it I think I need to extrude my front teeth so they look more like before. What do you guys think?

[Rebeccasmells]

Your teeth are properly aligned so I guess it's relative to the teeth either side.

Can you get your guns made smaller?

[Welshrarebit]

Your ortho should be able to extrude those two front teeth, or at least give you a reason why not. For what it's worth, I agree with you. But your smile still looks great!

[sandiego88]

Your teeth look great! I have the same problem. My teeth use to be much longer looking for the top teeth. My gums have puffed/swelled a little so they almost meet the the top of my brackets. When I first got braces there was about 1-2 mm of tooth on the top front teeth before the gums. After noticing this I would brush that area better, which has slightly helped. I;ve read that once your braces are off the gums will stop swelling and the teeth will go back to their normal size.

[LittleSern]

If it really is due to swelling, do you guys think I could resolve the issue by intruding the laterals as opposed to extruding the incisors? Or do you think the teeth are too high in my mouth so the incisors should be extruded?

[Beckett]

If you really want to make an adjustment, I would bring the centrals down rather than the laterals up. Just a hair, a mm or two at most.

[Okiedokie]

You appear to have the same condition I had, called peg laterals. It's when your teeth either side of your two front teeth are too small, it's a defect I was told. My Ortho told me the correct size is about 75% of the front teeth. It seems like your Ortho has aligned your front teeth with the height of those. I think it would create a better final result to have your two side teeth built up with composite bonding or veneered. Then for the two front teeth to be brought back down a little.

I had mine built up and I'm really happy with my laterals now that they are the correct size in relation to my other teeth. I hadn't been aware of it beforehand but once it was pointed out it was very obvious to me why my smile had never looked "full" like some other peoples (despite having had braces in the past and having a very well aligned arch etc) Now my teeth look proportionate and my smile looks soooo much better. I can't wait for my braces to be off! Good luck with yours!

[FlyByNight]

I have small lateral incisors on the top. Before braces, I had buck teeth, but my ortho pulled them down. In your case, it looks like your centrals were pulled up. If it really bothers you I would definitely call your ortho. I'll show you what I mean by my small laterals if I can figure out how to post pics.