Q.
Hello, I would appreciate your help. I hate my smile, and try to avoid showing my teeth to people. I saw a photo of me recently which had been taken when I was smiling and showing my teeth, and I was so horrified I felt like getting pliers and pulling my top two incisors out there and then. The trouble is, I have already worn braces for over two years in my teens (I’m 22 now), with rubber bands and everything. This was mainly done to correct a canine ‘snaggletooth’, instead of the other option which was to remove 4 molars, one in each corner of my mouth, in order to make more room for the canine tooth to come down to the same level as the other teeth. I was put off by the latter choice because the dentist warned that this could cause my face to have a ‘sunken in’ appearance, but I almost wish I had now, because my mouth still looks crowded. I have a very narrow smile, no matter how hard I try to stretch my lips at the sides, and I still have an overbite, and my top four incisors slant outwards compared to the canines on each side. Think Kylie Minogue’s smile, as although I have healthy teeth my smile looks narrow, showing relatively few teeth, and toothy. Is there any way I could have these large teeth fixed and my smile ‘widened’, without braces again? I would not want veneers either, as these would only make me teeth look even bigger than they are now. I want my front two teeth made smaller, shortened and straightened, pushed further back in relation to my lips so that there is no gap between them and the bottom two front incisors when my mouth is closed, and the two incisors either side on the top row just straightened. I would have this done even if it meant extracting the top four incisor teeth and implanting false ones. The length of my two front teeth is also made worse by the fact that I brushed them too hard when I was younger, causing the gumline above these to recede. Please could you give me an indication as to the possible procedures and cost, many thanks.