How a Smile Makeover Can Correct the Length of Your Teeth

A smile makeover can come in many forms for a variety of reasons. You may not be pleased with your smile due to some cosmetic imperfection. Fortunately, you will not have to live with these challenges your entire life. Your dentist can offer solutions to improve your smile, including if you have abnormally long teeth. Then, you can have the self-esteem you have been lacking.

Causes of and problems with long teeth

Aesthetic problems with teeth can come in many forms. Sometimes, a person’s teeth can appear to be abnormally long. This can be embarrassing and hamper a smile, making the person want to have a smile makeover. There are a few possible ways in which this can happen.

In some situations, the person’s teeth may not be too long, but the jaw is to blame. A small jaw can make the teeth look large. There is a rare condition called macrodontia, which causes teeth to grow longer than normal. Another reason that teeth may look long is when the gums recede, exposing more of the tooth.

Tooth removal

This may not be a dentist’s first choice when it comes to a smile makeover, but it can correct the person’s concern. If any of the teeth are indeed abnormally large due to macrodontia, the dentist may decide removal makes the most sense. After doing so, the dentist may replace it with an implant or partial dentures. If the long tooth is a back molar, replacing it may not be necessary.

Contouring

Another smile makeover approach to treating large teeth is to reshape or recontour them. The dentist can shave the teeth slightly to make them shorter. The dentist will smooth them to give them a natural look. This is often a good option when the canine teeth are long.

Braces

Many people think of this smile makeover method for straightening crooked teeth. It can also work well for people with longer-than-normal teeth. The metal brackets and wires on the teeth will constantly put pressure on them, forcing them to move. The dentist can devise a plan to ensure that the teeth move in such a way as to reduce how long they look. The treatment length can be up to three years for this approach.

Working with the gums

If receding gums are causing the teeth to look too large, the dentist may use a graft to rebuild them. Taking tissue from the roof of the mouth or other places, the dentist can replace the gums that have receded. The dentist may also cut a flap of skin at the roof of the mouth and remove tissue underneath for the graft. This can cover up more of the tooth, helping it to look like it is a more normal length.