Q. I really want to sort my teeth out once and for all!. I’m not sure where to go first. Do I go to an ‘ordinary’ dentist and then get recommended for cosmetic work? Or if I contact a ‘cosmetic’ dentist will all the problems be sorted out by that one person. My teeth are crooked but I also have gum disease which is getting much worse, particularly around one of my front teeth (in the upper jaw). I have not been to a dentist for about 5 years, also I am 43. (Definitely long in the tooth!) If someone has got severe gum disease, even if it is sorted out, what are the chances the original teeth can be corrected? And how is gum diease sorted out, how long does it take? I don’t know if this is true or not, but I’ve heard the bacteria can be eating away at teeth under the gum and into the jaw. So I’m just wondering if this damage will mean any correction work is doomed. (My teeth don’t wobble but I’m sure I’m beginning to feel some ‘shift’ and loosening)