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Would you rather have white teeth or straight teeth?

26 replies

Lottapianos · 30/04/2013 10:43

I've been unhappy with my teeth for a long time. I used to smoke every day, I love red wine and I drink green tea. For a long time, my teeth were really quite yellow but since cutting waaaaaaay back on the smoking and using UltraDex mouthwah and Colgate Max One toothpaste every day, they are looking so much brighter.

I also have crooked teeth, especially on the bottom row. They are healthy, they're just quite overcrowded. I've been thinking for a while about having braces but am a bit scared and it's a lot of dosh to spend. I was chatting with a colleague the other day, and noticed that his bottom teeth are also quite crooked but they look very clean and bright and actually, I thought how much character his non-perfect teeth give his face. He's a very nice looking bloke and I think that if his teeth were perfectly straight he might look a bit bland.

Anyway, maybe I'm just kidding myself but I'm thinking I can possibly live with my crooked gnashers if I can keep up the whitening Smile

Any thoughts?

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sparkle12mar08 · 30/04/2013 10:44

I think as long as they weren't too mis-shapen, I'd go for white teeth over perfectly straight & formed.

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Bowlersarm · 30/04/2013 10:45

Try whitening them first, and see if that is enough of an improvement?

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BillStickersIsInnocent · 30/04/2013 10:47

Well ideally both Grin

But would go for white/healthy looking and crooked over straight and stained.

I have crooked bottom teeth, looked into braces but I would need to have teeth removed which seems wrong somehow.

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JazzDalek · 30/04/2013 10:56

White and (slightly) crooked is fine IMO.

My teeth sound a lot like yours OP - I refused braces as a teen so had really quite crowded lowers, uppers not so bad but definitely not straight. I also chipped my top front two teeth at some point. Then through my teens and twenties I smoked and drank a lot of coffee and tea, and by the time I had my kids they really didn't look great.

After years of smiling with my mouth shut and (inadvertently) coming across to people as aloof / mysterious Grin / snobby / rude, I decided to sort it and got braces. I had them off a few weeks ago and am now doing a course of whitening. I can tell you that whilst straight teeth are great, it's since the whitening that I've been smiling freely and not worrying about how they look.

If mine had been only slightly crooked but unstained, I think I'd have been quite happy with that, as you say it adds character!

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Lottapianos · 30/04/2013 10:56

Teeth removed?! Yikes Bill - don't blame you for being iffy about that!

Anyone tried Zoom whitening at the dentist? I don't want to end up like Simon Cowell but slightly whiter would be good Smile

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Parisisalwaysagoodidea · 30/04/2013 10:57

White teeth for sure!

I actually prefer slightly crooked teeth to big, white, even slab teeth. I know David Bowie got his done because they hurt him but his teeth were fab before. Cheryl Cole's looked better before as well IMO

Clemence Poesy

Kirsten Dunst

There's something so European sexy about snaggle teeth! Maybe it's just a fetish of mine!

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Lottapianos · 30/04/2013 10:58

Good for you JazzDalek - glad you're feeling much more confident now! Smile

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Lottapianos · 30/04/2013 10:59

Kirsten Dunst is a great example Paris - she would definitely look just blandly pretty with straight teeth, but her crooked teeth give her a bit of edge. Agree about Bowie's teeth, they were great!

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Locketjuice · 30/04/2013 11:01

Could you not have braces then carry on with the home whitening technique you have going? Smile
It sounds like both are an issue for your confidence..

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MumfordandDaughter · 30/04/2013 11:01

My teeth are my favourite part of me Grin

They're the one thing i always gets complimented on, and the one part of my body i take most care of.

They've always been white, but over the past few years (because of tea and fizzy drinks!) have lost their gleam and are now slightly creamy-coloured instead.

My teeth were horrendously gapped and all over the shop when i was younger. The space between my two front teeth was so big, i could fit my thumb through it. They also hung way over my bottom teeth.

When i was 12, i spent the next 4 years with 5 different types of braces. Some had elastic bands on them, others ripped the inside of my cheeks. But it was soooooo worth it. I got called 'metal mouth' and other names quite a lot by classmates, but looking at their teeth nowaday compared to mine, i'm having the last laugh.

Braces are so worth it, if you can afford it. With the amount i needed, i know i wouldn't have been able to afford sorting my mouth out if i'd not had it done as a child when it was free. It makes me wonder why so many adults don't opt for braces when they're under 16. Why wait until you're older and have to pay for it?

Anyway, to answer - i'm really quite torn about which one i'd rather. If my teeth were only mildly crooked, i'd opt for white teeth instead. However, if they were as bad as mine were as a child, i really don't know.

(Unhelpful)

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Absy · 30/04/2013 11:11

Ideally both. Grin

But - I did have my teeth whitened last year (amazing deal through Groupon, with a dentist rather than some dodgy person with a lazer gun in a room) and it was a huge help

I would love to have mine straightened, but to a degree. I have teeth similar to Kirsten Dunst's before she had hers straightened, and I'd like that done, but still have some of the skewness in there for "character"

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Parisisalwaysagoodidea · 30/04/2013 11:19

Kirsten has had her teeth done? Nooooooo!

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JazzDalek · 30/04/2013 12:39

Why wait until you're older and have to pay for it?

Believe me, I wish I could go back in time and have a sharp word with my 12-year-old self Grin

I was stubborn and scared of the extractions I'd have needed, is the short answer.

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Absy · 30/04/2013 16:46

Either that or they got mysteriously less skew on their own.

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Absy · 30/04/2013 16:47

(I pay an inordinate amount of attention to Kirsten's teeth. By the time she got to the Marie Antoinette movie they were straighter than before).

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ZZZenagain · 30/04/2013 16:47

white. Bit crooked wouldn't bother me

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Absy · 30/04/2013 16:48
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OneLittleLady · 30/04/2013 17:40

I've got crooked teeth but they are clean and bright so I'm not bothered about having them straightened. I had teeth removed as a child to fix some of the overcrowding but was never offered braces as they weren't considered to be crooked enough to need them. I regularly use whitening toothpaste and mouthwashes and I feel that as long as my teeth look clean and are healthy and causing me no pain, then I'll leave them alone.

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iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii · 30/04/2013 17:46

Another vote for try whitening first. I have had it done twice and love it.

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AgathaF · 30/04/2013 18:05

Does whitening hurt or make them really sensitive? What methods have people used and who has done it - dentist or A N Other?

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MacaYoniAndCheese · 30/04/2013 18:11

Braces. Definitely. You can get uneven staining and decaying around crowded/crooked bits. Sort that out first and then whiten afterwards...it's getting cheaper all the time to whiten and you'll get a better result after your teeth have been professionally cleaned and/or orthodontics.

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littlepeas · 30/04/2013 21:14

I had absolutely perfect teeth for a while. I had a brace as a teenager, but didn't wear my retainer and the most crooked one moved back a bit. I like my crooked tooth and agree it gives character. I want them whitened though!

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 30/04/2013 22:00

I can't link but Micheal Moon from Eastenders has my favourite TV star teeth.
Bright white and slightly crooked.
Gives character Wink

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Wishiwasanheiress · 01/05/2013 10:54

Straight.

Pure white looks weird.

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bella65 · 01/05/2013 11:23

yellow and stained is very ageing.

Depends how crooked- lower jaw is ok IMO but upper- hmmm- maybe save and have both done?

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