[GaryR]

Hello everyone.
My daughter is 14 years old and has braces fitted. Everything's okay with them and her teeth are looking good. Now the problem. My daughter's lower jaw is very slightly on the skew and has been from birth. There is a small gap between her left molars when she bites together although they are straight and inline. Thus she only chews on her right molars.
Anyway, can anything be done to correct the problem in the future when she's older and has developed more so that she can chew on the left side too. I had in view of crowns on the appropriate teeth being fitted to bridge the gap but i have been told (not by a dentist) that a dentist would not file down perfectly good teeth (NHS or Private) so that crowns could be fitted. Is this true??
I hope you can help me with some advice and suggestions.
Many thanks.
Kind regards,
Gary.

[Dr Pav Khaira]

Dear Gary,

If your daughter is coping well and is happy, and as long as there are no pathological problems there is no indication for her to be able to chew on both sides. Most people in fact subconsciously favour one side over the other.

No dentist is likely to prepare healthy teeth for crowns, especially at such a young age

I hope this helps

Kindest regards

[GaryR]

Hi Pav,

Many thanks for the speedy reply. Yes my daughter's happy enough, but seems aware that she can't chew on the left side hence the post. Maybe that's the side she would prefer .
I wouldn't like to see perfectly good teeth (even redundant from doing their primary job) prepared for crowns and definately not at her age whilst still developing.
The Orthodontist touched briefly on re-setting her jaw but thought that too heavy and involved.

Kind regards,
Gary.