49 years old, need to widen my narrow smile, DNA Palate expander or Inman Aligner? Advice? (Photo)

Question

Had 2 of my upper teeth removed when 13 before having silver wire braces 3 years. by age 30 wisdom teeth arrived impacted &moved upper teeth forward towards a V. Had wisdom teeth removed and wire braces again for 1 year. permanent retainer on my Lwr front teeth, not upper teeth.Age49 now my upper teeth moved forward pushing lower lip excessively force my lips together to close them fulling. would appliance that has pressure from the inside to push the back side teeth outwards would help widen?

Brad Lockhart, DDS · Answer

It is very difficult to tell what is the best treatment based off of a single photo. Here are some observations based off of the one photo and your history:Your upper dental arch is underdeveloped (see gummy smile). Your upper front teeth have already been overly retracted (bicuspid extractions). Your lower jaw is retruded and also underdeveloped (sits inside of an underdeveloped upper dental arch, upper bicuspids were extracted to eliminate an overjet caused by your retruded lower jaw.The Inman aligner is an appliance used to straighten teeth; therefore, not useful for your situation. The DNA appliance is an excellent adult arch development appliance which could very well be quite useful in your case. Good luck!

John McDonald, DMD · Answer

It seems from your description that you have been experiencing a continual movement forward of your front teeth.  Usually this occurs due to a forward tongue thrust while swallowing or from thumb or finger sucking.  (Yes, some adults are secret thumb suckers) Both of these habits cause the back teeth to appear leaned in and narrow.  You need treatment to retract your front teeth then figure out the cause of the movement and eliminate the cause.  Neither a DNA appliance or Inman aligner retracts front teeth.

49 years old, need to widen my narrow smile, DNA Palate expander or Inman Aligner? Advice? (Photo)

Answers (2)

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49 years old, need to widen my narrow smile, DNA Palate expander or Inman Aligner? Advice? (Photo)

Answers (2)

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Everything you need to know about Braces

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.