I am getting married next year and my jaw is not straight and my teeth are to long

Q. Hi my jaw is not straight and my top teeth are not perfectly straight and i have an over-bite, also my top 2 front teeth are longer than the teeth next to them. I did wear a top brace at about 14/15 years old but only for a few months, this was all due to sucking my thumb from a young age. I find it difficult to smile in photos and I am getting married next year, so would love to be able to smile at ease! What do you recommend, veneers or some sort of brace? How can my jaw be corrected? also what would I expect to pay for the required treatment?

A. Dear G,

Thank you for your questions, It is not uncommon for people to seek a beautiful smile for their wedding. Normally it is next month rather than next year! That gives you time to get your smile correct.

Even though we have a year it still probably means that braces are not an option. Some form of brace work would help your jaw discrepancy but this usually takes about 2 years to accomplish. in this sort of situation veneers are often a good immediate solution. They will allow a vast improvement in your smile with the minimal amount of shaping of your teeth. You may also require the gum line to be changed to allow for an even well proportioned smile. The important thing is for you to find a dentist who is adequately trained is this sort of procedure. As a ball park figure the cost of this treatment is usually in the region of about £10000.00 . This can vary from dentist to dentist depending on their expertise and experience.

Hope this helps,

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This entry was posted on Sunday, March 9th, 2008 at 2:48 pmand is filed under Dr Caplan's Answers, Experts Answers, Q. Smile Makeovers.