Someone asked me the other day if they could have straight teeth like mine. I didn’t give it much thought at the time, and went through all the different orthodontic treatment options available at Artiste Studios in order to straighten teeth and which option might be most suitable for their particular case. Now, sitting down and going over what the patient said, I started looking back and remembering my elementary school pictures. My teeth didn’t always look like this.
I had always had straight teeth when I was a child and never my parents thought that I would have to wear braces until my dentist pointed out that the little pointy teeth that had come through to replace my front baby lateral teeth (the ones on either side of the front incisor teeth) would stay that shape and size and the spaces would not close on their own. He described the condition as having conoid laterals. Conoid teeth are shapped in a more pointy inverted cone manner and are not aestehtically pleasing since they leave gaps where tooth structure of a normal tooth shape should be.
This meant a Gapped vampire smile for ever and ever? NO WAY! My dentist went through the various ways that this could be overcome. After careful consideration and my parent’s input, we decided I would have a quick course of orthodontic treatment to align my teeth nicely and de-rotate one of the conoid teeth in order to create the right type of spaces and alignment to later place the two veneers over my vampire teeth.
I played various school sports and my biggest concern at the time wasn’t that the metal tracks could be seen, but the fact that I might take a volleyball in the mouth and look like Mick Jagger got stuck on a wired fence by his lips the next day. Low and behold, I was actually playing basketball and talking up a trash storm with my rival when she decided that I was to go head first into the basketball frame after saying something about her boyfriend...ok, not so bad since at least I hit the pole nose first and only my top lip had the brackets smashed into it.. So, with a broken nose, bruised eyes and swollen lips it was a great story to tell to my friends and although I did knock off a bracket, I luckily didn’t damage any teeth and it was just a matter of my orthodontist bonding it back on while nagging me about how important it was that I wear the sports mouth guard he had prepared for me...Ok ok I promised, never to talk rubbish on the court while playing against a very big girl with no sports guard...it’s the best I could do!
In 6 months my teeth were nice and straight and now my conoids looked even more vampire like with the spacing created. I was eager to get my veneers and happy it was summer when I got my braces off which meant I would have my new teeth before school started again in September. It was time to match the colour for the porcelain veneers and prepare the teeth. I got to wear some temporary veneers before the final set were confectioned. Colour and shape were very important since these teeth were a crucial part of my smile and one of the first things you noticed about me. Once my Cosmetic dentist was satisfied that he had the right proportions and shade, my veneers were made and I went in to get them placed. [Link to Premier Orthodontics]
Very little of my own teeth was shaved away, and my cosmetic dentist skillfully bonded the veneers with a special adhesive. Quite quickly, the whole procedure was complete. I asked if I could bite into everything with the veeners and the answer was yes. I simply had to make sure to keep up with my daily hygiene, floss regularly and of course, use my sports mouth guard when playing contact sports to protect not only the veneers but of course my other teeth as well. The first two instructions were easy, the latter was a little more complicated for me, but I promised I would try my best.
The first time I looked in the mirror after having the veneers put on, I looked strange I thought, with these big bold front teeth all lined up in a row but of course I had been used to seeing these tiny peg like teeth on either side of my front incisors and would have to get used to this fuller smile. Now all of a sudden it was my canines that looked pointy to me and maybe I should have thought of doing them as well! My dentist suggested that since I was so young still (I was 17 at the time) I might want to consider doing the canines later on if I were to ever replace my veneers since there was no immediate need to do them at this stage in my life since aesthetically my vampire look was corrected.
I was told that with age my gums might recede naturally and possibly at this point I may want to replace my veneers, although I should have no problem with them for at least 10 years. Well, 10 years have past, actually more, and my veneers are securely in place, my gum recession is minimal and no one has ever noticed I have veneers unless I tell them since the shade was spot on and the shape perfectly adapted to my smile. I still think about doing my canines and of course seeing patients every day at the practice getting their smiles enhanced with the latest techniques employed at Artiste Studios I fiddle with the idea of replacing my veneers and doing the whole Simon Cowell thing...who knows if the next time I might be able to tell you all about it. [Link to Premier Cosmetic Dentistry]
If you have ever considered correcting your smile and want to know what options are available to you, contact Artiste Studios to book an assessment. With all the dental specialists you could possibly need to create your perfect smile all under one roof, it really is just a matter of giving us a call or contact us via email. [Link to Contact Artiste Studios]
