Twisted Teeth, Corrective Options

20 years ago, the most common way to untwist teeth was to use orthodontic appliances (braces) to align teeth. However, it often took 1 to 2 years to accomplish the proper results. This option is still often used but mostly for kids who have many years to show off their smile. The adult, however sometimes does not have this luxury of waiting and of having braces which might impede on his/her speech and looks.

Of course "crooked" teeth can always be capped and with this option the teeth could be adjusted for size, color and shape (these options are not available when using orthodontics). The results are dramatic and immediate.

A few years back, dentist started to use bonding as an option to untwist teeth, which is not quite correct since bonding is really adding material to your teeth, therefore giving the impression that the teeth were realigned. Nevertheless, bonding is an option which produces excellent results as long as the "crooked" teeth are not too twisted. The nice thing about "bonding" is that it is "reversible" process; meaning that since very little, if any, tooth structure is removed or shaved off, therefore allowing the dentist to remove and/or redo the bonding procedure. A cautionary note, however, is that bonding often stain and sometimes irritate the gums.

Laminates or veneers (porcelain or composites) are another option that is probably the most in demand today because it really is a combination of bonding and crowning teeth. Very little tooth is removed and the results are dramatic and immediate. The downside is that sometimes they may chip off or crack because of the thin layer they are made off. If they fall off in one piece, they often can be replaced however, if they crack, they must be redone and the difficulty lies in the color matching.

Finally, there has been a recent wave towards more conservative cutting using tooth recontouring which we have talked about many times in other articles. This is basically shaving the teeth in a minimal fashion in order to "straighten" teeth though sometimes an optical illusion. Very often the "crooked" tooth can be shaved minimally to get a proper alignment of the teeth.

Note: All these options can also be used in combination with one another. It is up to you and your dentist to decide in terms of time and finance.

Dr. Michael Farahnic

Always Your Choice is proud to acknowledge Dr. Michael Farahnick for his authorship in the dental articles. Dr. Farahnick is a practitioner of Dentistry, including both prevention and treatment. His practice involves all age groups and he has expertise in the area of accomodating the patient who has dental fears. He also is an instructor of dentistry at New York University School of Dentistry. We are proud to refer to Dr. Farahnick and he has become the dentist of many of our patients at the office. His contribution to our web site is greatly appreciated.

Dr. Michael Farahnick's office is located at: 405 Lexington Avenue (The Chrysler Building) Suite 6900 New York, NY 10174 - 0360 His office may be
reached at : 212 - 557 - 1234 E-mail:softstick@tiac.net