Dental treatment for overbite

pandora205

I've had an overbite all my life, probably due to the size of some of my teeth. My dentist says that nowadays I would have been offered a brace in my teens but it didn't happen much then.

Anyway, this hasn't particularly bothered me until recently when my front teeth have started to chip and wear quite badly, although they are healthy in other ways. My dentist can't put veneers or crowns as these would wear too (or whatever). Eventually, after lots of thinking and discussion with my dentist, I asked for a referral to a specialist clinic (for cosmetic dentistry) and had a very long appointment with a surgeon. I've lost a couple of molars (one after attempts to do root canal work) and would like either an implant or bridge to sort them too.

Well I'm rather reeling from the possibilities. The surgeon said that I would need orthodontic treatment (a brace) first but that this would create other problems as my teeth then wouldn't bite. This could be corrected by maxofacial surgery (jaw extension) but this is quite a radical and expensive option. And of course this wouldn't be NHS (neither is my own dentist so I wasn't expecting it would be). I did ask if there are any ways to keep the cost down and there could be a possibility of a referral to a teaching hospital, not least as my teeth are an interesting study apparently.

I'm about to see an orthodontist for his opinion... then some figures!

I don't really need advice (though dentists please feel free to comment) I'm just wondering if I want to go in this direction at all, even though I would have a perfect profile after it!

Toothsmith

That's a question only you can answer.

You seem to have been given the pros and cons of all the options pretty well, as you seem to understand them. That makes me feel you have good people advising you - so really, the rest is up to you.

pandora205

Thanks. Yes I have confidence in my own dentist and (I think) the specialist. He is waiting to hear what the orthodontist thinks before coming up with a treatment plan. Then I want some figures!

My own dentist did say I can come back to her to discuss the options, and if I want, she can make a second referral for another opinion.

pandora205

Well, having been to the orthodontist it's not as bad as I expected. He thinks that a brace for 18 months will do the trick, and, although my 'bite' won't be perfect it'll be much better than it has ever been. He also mentioned that he doesn't see why I'd need to have a complete set of veneers on my front teeth as they are in okay condition.

It's still quite a big decision to go down the orthodontic route at my age, though it would stop my teeth wearing, and correct my profile into the bargain. It is, however, still 3k treatment (including all check ups and follow up).

Toothsmith

I have a patient who had this done in her mid 40s. It was finished about 7 years ago now, and she still thinks it's the best thing she's ever done.

18 months is nothing. How little time ago did last Xmas seem?

pandora205

Thanks. I'm even older (though won't say how much) though apparently not the eldest the orthodontist has seen. He reported very good results with other patients too and said he thought I'd be very happy with the outcome.

I've decided to have it done and am weighing up the pros and cons of different braces (metal vs porcelein which look better but take longer to work).

I'll discuss any other work with my regular dentist but I've lots of time for that anyway.

littlepinkstars44

I was asked if i wanted that kind of surgery when i was about 15, went an got xrays took an they showed me how my face would look after - TOTALLY DIFFERENT be warned!
You also have to have your jaws wired together for 3 days afterword so that your bottom jaw stays in place and heals that way, so no food and talking!
Obv i said no to that, an just took the braces to straighten my teeth!

Savvy_Sue

It doesn't sound as if the OP needs that extreme level of surgery but that braces will give sufficient improvement, so it's perhaps unwise to alarm her unnecessarily. She is quite rightly taking advice from a dentist and orthodontist who have actually seen her mouth ... which is the only way to go!

JoolzS

I have to ask if your desire to have this done is because of seeing all the "perfect" teeth that are now on TV. I only ask this because I have become a bit paranoid about the state of my own teeth due to watching too much US TV. I do understand it because it has made me a bit paranoid about my own, completely not perfect, but functional teeth.

Maybe I'm wrong but it sounds as though you are considering having £3K worth of cosmetic dentistry. Unless you feel really bad about yourself then I wouldn't consider spending that much money on your looks unless you can easily afford it. I don't particularly like my own teeth, but they are strong (so far) and they work. If I won the lottery then I might consider some cosmetic dentistry, but until I win I'll just stick with them working OK.

Julie

pandora205

JoolzS wrote: »

I have to ask if your desire to have this done is because of seeing all the "perfect" teeth that are now on TV. I only ask this because I have become a bit paranoid about the state of my own teeth due to watching too much US TV. I do understand it because it has made me a bit paranoid about my own, completely not perfect, but functional teeth.

Maybe I'm wrong but it sounds as though you are considering having £3K worth of cosmetic dentistry. Unless you feel really bad about yourself then I wouldn't consider spending that much money on your looks unless you can easily afford it. I don't particularly like my own teeth, but they are strong (so far) and they work. If I won the lottery then I might consider some cosmetic dentistry, but until I win I'll just stick with them working OK.

Julie

Hi. First I don't need to have the surgery, as although not perfect my bite will be okay with orthodontic treatment. I'm glad I don't need to have surgery - it would need to be quite radical if I did as they would have to insert bone from elsewhere.....

Second, my reasons for doing this are not cosmetic (even though there will be some cosmetic effect). My top front teeth are wearing the front of my bottom front teeth badly and would eventually be cutting into my gums. The inside of the top teeth are also chipping as the bottom teeth erode them. As I've lost upper molars the front top teeth lack support so are 'caving in'. Not only would my teeth wear away but also my profile would get more extreme over time.

I have no desire to change my looks particularly as they are okay and I'm me! However, having straight teeth that could have other treatments if needed (such as crowns or veneers - these can't be done at the moment) would mean a lot and avoid future pain and tooth loss.

And 3k is actually not much in the scheme of cosmetic dentistry. Had I needed orthodontic treatment, maxofacial surgery, plus a couple of implants and maybe veneers on worn teeth, it would be more like 20k so I'm very relieved.