I have a congenitally missing latetal tooth and the other lateral is a peg shaped with crowding in the lower jaw.. My orthodontist says that the best solution is extracting the peg shaped with orthodontic treatment and shaping both canines into laterals but I want to have a symmetrical smile without doing this because I'm not convinced..
Answer: Missing and misshaped lateral incisors This is a common and difficult problem. The real question is, "How good do you want your teeth to look and function?" The best treatment would be to move your cuspids back orthodontically and create space for an implant where the lateral incisor is missing and for a veneer where the lateral incisor is peg shaped. If you do not want to incur the expense or commit to the time, then compromises can be made. One such compromise is to shape the cuspid to look like a lateral incisor. I've seen this done, but hesitate to recommend it for two reasons. First the cuspids are shaped the way that they are because they perform an important function of protecting your back teeth when sliding your jaw side to side. When the cuspid is repositioned forward into the location of the lateral incisor, it is no longer where it needs to be in order to protect your back teeth. This is part of the discipline in dentistry called "Occlusion", and I think it is very important. The other problem is that no matter how much the cuspid is reshaped, it will always be much larger than a lateral incisor and never look natural. It's a cheap alternative, but finishes with compromised aesthetic and functional results.
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Answer: Missing and misshaped lateral incisors This is a common and difficult problem. The real question is, "How good do you want your teeth to look and function?" The best treatment would be to move your cuspids back orthodontically and create space for an implant where the lateral incisor is missing and for a veneer where the lateral incisor is peg shaped. If you do not want to incur the expense or commit to the time, then compromises can be made. One such compromise is to shape the cuspid to look like a lateral incisor. I've seen this done, but hesitate to recommend it for two reasons. First the cuspids are shaped the way that they are because they perform an important function of protecting your back teeth when sliding your jaw side to side. When the cuspid is repositioned forward into the location of the lateral incisor, it is no longer where it needs to be in order to protect your back teeth. This is part of the discipline in dentistry called "Occlusion", and I think it is very important. The other problem is that no matter how much the cuspid is reshaped, it will always be much larger than a lateral incisor and never look natural. It's a cheap alternative, but finishes with compromised aesthetic and functional results.
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