Can my Ortho Make my Teeth Appear Smaller?

Question

I've had my braces off for about two years now but have never been completely satisfied with the length of my two front teeth. I'm also bothered that the teeth beside my two front ones are not even. One is slightly back and the other and pushed forward. I wear my retainer every night. Will I go back to the ortho for this or can they even do anything? What about invisalign?

Vijay Bhagia, DMD · Answer

It is hard to say without actually seeing but more often than not, the visual appearance of teeth is affected by the gum margin. In other words, the actual tooth is often the same size but the movement of the tooth might make the gum bunch up and cover more of the tooth than ideal. This will make perfectly aligned teeth look like one is shorter than the other.

	The correction is very simple, done by removing a small amount of gum, often with a laser (completely painless)

	Go see your ortho and discuss your choices

	Vijay Bhagia, DMD, MS, Houston Orthodontist

Can my Ortho Make my Teeth Appear Smaller?

Answers (1)