I have a gap in my front top teeth due to sucking my thumb what can be done?

Q. Since i was a little girl ive had a gap at the front of my teeth at the top. due 2 sucking my thumb the gap has got bigger over the years and my teeth are very crooked. during my teens i had a brace which i just kept taking out so that was no good. im 23 and i have no confidence when speaking to people. is there any solution ie; have a tooth put in there or take the 2 front ones out and have them replaced by 2 straight closed teeth? or is my only option to have a brace?

A. This is obviously bothering considerably. It would be an extreme solution to remove the teeth and have implants placed. Although it does sound as though a brace is the best option the other possibility would be veneers. You would probably need 8 to 10 veneers to give you a correctly proportioned smile ( 2 veneers would just give you strangely looking fat front teeth). However the down side is that your teeth would need to be shaped.
Invisible braces (Invisalign) are used in my practice to solve many poorly positioned teeth problems. This uses a sequence of ultra thin aligners ( a little bit like a very small invisible mouth guard) to gradually move your teeth back into place over several months. I would recommend that you seriously consider a brace option as this is the most healthiest way to solve your problem. If ,however, you are looking for a quicker fix veneers done well will last you many years.

Regards

Dr Julian Caplan – Director on the board of the BACD View My Profile Dr Caplan

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