Teeth whitening and straightening potentially

[humblemeep]

I've just had a dentist appointment and enquired about teeth whitening. I think I'll go down the route of getting the trays and gel from the dentist to wear at home.

My teeth at the bottom in the middle are very close together and slightly crooked. I might enquired about straightening them, but will have to save first. Anyone had this done as an adult? If they're very close together will they have to remove a tooth first?

I'll try and attach a photo of them.

Any other info about both definitely appreciated!

Thank you, that's useful to know.

It's irrelevant, it would take me years to save that much and I want them whitened before then, so I'll just be going for whitening. Also not sure why you're presuming I'm male. I'll not even start on how you're talking about my teeth. No dentist has ever mentioned a cross bite, I think the photo was just misleading, I took it in a hurry.

100% this. Ideally for anything other than a very straightforward case, I'd be looking for a referral to an orthodontist. I might use a dentist with qualification in eg clear aligners for very minor "tweaks", but anything over and above that I'd be looking to be assessed and treated by an orthodontist. Using the "bargain" online or high Street providers can lead to issues such as your bite and jaw function being affected.
(I'm not dentally qualified but have worked with the dental sector for over 15 years)

@NotMrsTumble I'll definitely stay away from them, thanks.

I did invisalign. Best thing ever. I now love smiling and can look at myself in photos. Took 5 months. Seriously wish id done it 20 years ago. Highly recommend.

Retainers every night?

I had crowded bottom teeth and opted for metal braces. I had them on for a year. I have a permanent wire fixed behind my teeth now which I forget is there and you can't see it at all unless I open my mouth wide and put my head down. I do have retainers which I can wear every other night. I'm one year since having my braces removed and I don't find wearing retainers before I go to bed a problem at all. I'm upload a before and after picture.

Best time/money spent.

Thanks, and what a difference!

Same here! I’m on week 11 of 24 Invisalign aligners. It cost £3499 including whitening and two retainers at the end.

to the OP, I’m 57 and age wasn’t a barrier to me. My teeth are definitely more wonky than when I was young, they looked like tombstones before I started and already I can see an improvement.

I am bored of it now though, hate putting a new aligner in as they are tight for a day, my bite currently feels off and I have about 8 attachments on my teeth which means eating certain things like crisps are a pain.

I have had whitening before so I know about the sensitivity. I’m committed to finishing but it’s not an easy journey.

Another middle aged brace wearer here. I got fixed braces in November, I was 47 in January, I think I am pleased I did it.

Your teeth reflect the light which is why in your photo one front tooth is whiter than the other - the darker tooth is leaning back and in shadow.
I would try to get them straightened first.
I had back leaning teeth front teeth and (before modern braces) had veneers put on to make them more forward. This also made them seem whiter.

Do you have wisdom teeth, did your teeth become overcrowded after they came in.

I have a wire fixed on the back so i dont have to wear the fixed retainers. But i do have a set of retainers and they really are no bother. Much rather wear the retainers amd have my teeth how they are now.

@TerfIngOnTheBeach I am having my attachments removed on Monday, polished and cleaned ready for the whitening. I have 14 retainers in total. I have a front porcelain crown which is whiter than my other teeth so I can't wait for the whitening part.
I am also having some Botox for my gummy smile next month, which I also can't wait for.

Had mine straightened with cemented braces and the price included retainers and whitening.

All in was £3600 for top and bottom. Took about 18 months as my teeth were a mess.

I paid in instalments interest free so about £200 a month. My orthodontist was in Kingston on Thames and I can fully recommend if you are in that area.

It was so worth it.

My teeth were similar to yours. Before I got married I paid for straightening (basically a brace) and whitening and at the time it cost about £4K but that was 12 years ago. I hated the whitening, quite unpleasant, it worked but is not a permanent solution unless you top up regularly (no thanks)

the straightening was actually easier - wore a train track brace for 6 months (told I’d get a better result than with Invisalign) which was ok. I now have a permanent retainer which is basically an invisible (unless you look) wire behind both sets of teeth. They have stayed straight and although the whitening hasn’t kept up I am far less self conscious about my teeth than I was before I did it.

I imagine there are more whitening products to choose from these days. But don’t be fooled by cheap stuff on the internet. I tried some of that too and it was a waste of time. It was all sensitive but bearable for me.

Your teeth look almost exactly like mine did a couple of years ago!
I had trays to straighten them which took about six months, changing them every two weeks and I paid about £2k for it. My dentist offered a payment plan over 12, 24 or 36 months (independent dentist and my trays were through Smilelign which is based in Sheffield I believe!).
I did have to have attachments on a few of my teeth to make them move faster but that was no issue at all!
I was going to get whitening afterwards (included in the price) but covid hit and I couldn’t be bothered to hang around so I bought some of the Crest whitening strips which worked a treat, I’d really recommend!

Meant to say similar to you I thought a tooth would have to be taken out but it wasn’t necessary.
I think the dentist shaved down the sides of one or two teeth though.

Thank you, all very useful info.

Did this ever resolve for you in the end? And if so how many months? I am going through something similar