had enough of my crooked front teeth- adult brace or veneers?? Cost etc ??

[RanToTheHills]

would love to sort out the botched job done on my teeth as a teenager. I'm now in my mid 30s,have slightly overlapping & v crooked front teeth - would veneers be possible or not if overlapping? would a brace be preferable??
anyone had such treatment, if so, any tips, how much did it cost and how long did it take! Thank you oh wise mumsnetters!

hapaarently you can get sparkly pink braces nowadays, I would LOVE one

hapaarently??? what on earth happened there lol

my dh is currently having one front tooth fitted with a veneer that is £540 altogether

I had braces - took 18mths - 2 years, cost 3K
Straightening your own teeth is probably better than veneers as I think veneers will only last 10-15 years

is that because it's crooked, buktus?
wondering if poss for myhorrible ones!
TR - sparkly pink, think I'm slightly too old,god I hope i can get away with veneers,brace at my age seems ghastly!

Difficult to say what could be acheived with veneers without seeing the state of your teeth. Crowning may be another option as to do those you need to take away a lot more of the tooth bulk than you do to do with veneers, so gives more room for manouvre if you see what I mean. Howeveer that in its own way is more destructive to the tooth. Braces are an option but it is a long term commitment, if you bow out half way through you could end up worse off. You may need extractions to create the space to move the teeth and you may require a permenant splint applied to the back of the teeth to stop them moving back again. It usually takes between 12 to 18 months to do. All the treatment I've mentioned would have to be done privately as it is cosmetic. The price is difficult to say as it depends on exactly how many crowns/veneers etc are requires and the individual dentist's fees. I would recommend you go for a consultation to see what can be done. Get the dentist to take impressions to make study models that can be used to see what results can be acheived with the different treatments. Some dentists now have a computer programme that can do this from photos of your teeth. Above all make sure you get a written and signed (by you and the dentist)quote upfront before you start any treatment so you don't end up with a huge unexpected bill at the end

theblonde - was it so bad? also,are/were you much younger than me? guess it works less well on adults.

the tooth has actually died so is looking a dirty colour so that is why not really beacause its crooked, i would live mine whitened, had my braces took off when i was 17 but never wore the guard properly after so they are not brilliant but i dont think i could wear braces again now either

thanks,COV - are you an undercover dentist?(you sound quite expert!)Currentlyregistered with NHSdentist but may change to local private one as i guess they'd be likely to do such cosmetic procedures or at least refer me on.

Yes I am a dentist (check out the name ). Your nhs dentist will probabbly be able to do the tretment privately for you, likewise tha private one, but both will probably refer you if you opt for braces unless they are also trained as an orthodontist.

Have actually been looking into this myself and have seen a cosmetic dentist re veneers and also an orthodontist re a brace.
The problem with veneers is that they almost always need to take away some of the tooth before the veneers are fitted - especially if your teeth are crooked. So it is a one-way street and no going back. There can be sensitivity issues which may not settle and require root canal treatment, they don't generally veneer your bottom teeth as the nerves are much closer to the surface so more likely to cause sensitivity and you generally have to bleach your other teeth to keep the colour in line with the veneers. Veneers last from 10 to 20 years and for eight veneers I was quoted between £6-£8k, depending on which dentist did them.
Re braces,if you are lucky they may be able to use some virtually invisible braces called Invisalign or lingual braces that are fitted to the back of the teeth, so not visible. I would have to have the 'Ugly Betty' type unfortunately but they do come in a variety of colours, including white which minimises the look of them a bit.For adults the orthodontist said expect it to take up to 2 years. He also said that veneers on your top teeth can also wear away your bottom teeth as they are harder than natural enamel. I have been quoted £3k for the white braces and all of the care required. I am still mulling it all over but having initially been sure I would have veneers, I now don't know what to do as there seem to be potential problems with veneers that I hadn't thought of. Sorry if this is a bit long but you seem to be thinking about embarking on the same journey I am now contemplating !

I think I was 29 when I had them put on
It was definitely worth it
I have what COV calls a splint behind the front 6 to keep them in place

Once I had them on I then noticed lots of other adults with them

HullaBalloo you shouldn't needto have the teeth bleached as the veneers should be made to match your own natural teeth. It is only a matter of millimetres that is removed to place veneers, so the sensitivity is almost always temporary. I have never had to do root canal treatment following doing veneers. This situation is much more common with crowns, where a lot more tooth material nees to be removed.

thanks,all.Rather reassured that something can be done then!COV,yes realised signficanceof yr name after posting (bit slow on the uptake!)

Hi COV. I saw Andrea Ubhi in York about potential veneers and because one of my front teeth overlaps the other, she said that quite a bit of my two front teeth would need removing and that there was a high possibility that the resulting sensisitivity wouldn't settle and root canal work would be needed. Also that you would have a lifetime of bleaching to keep your natural teeth the same colour as the veneers. I must admit that those issues have quite put me off really.Perhaps it is worth getting another opinion, COV, if in your experience these things are unlikely. Trouble is that it costs up to £95 for every initial consultation with these different dentists and the costs soon mount up.

Same as the BLonde - got my braces when I was 28/29 and wore them for 18 months. Cost about 2.5k (7 years ago) and was the best money I've ever spent. Still wear a bar on the back of my top and bottom teeth, but you can't see it.
I would definitely recommend it - it's so nice to be able to smile without being self conscious!
good luck.

IMO if that much tooth material is needed to be removed that root canal treatment would be neccessary then veneers aren't the correct choice of treatment. Veneers should be very thin shells of porcelain, more suited to disguising a miscoloured tooth (eg darkened due to trauma) or helping to repair a chipped tooth rather than alter the appearance of crooked teeth. TBH I'm not 100% in agreement with the bleaching issue. A veneer probably needs to be replaced every 1ish years and I wouldn't say your teeth are going to constantly darken soo muchas to make a hugely noticable difference. A veneer can be very closely colour matched to your tooth shade, however you don't have as much control with bleaching so you can't garauntee the bleaching will match your teeth to the vener. Indeed that is one thing I warn patients about when they are having bleaching as the bleach doesn't affect any crowns or veneers so can make tany "artifical" teeth stand out from the natural teeth after the bleaching has been done.

Sorry that should read every 10-15ish years.

HullaBalloo, I would have to agree with CoV...I have done I can't tell you how many veneer preps & fits. Privately & NHS.

Some of the cases I have assisted on, you would never think could be corrected with veneers. I can honestly say in 15 years nursing experience, I have never known the sensitivity to be more than temporary (i.e upto the permanent veneers being fitted) & I have never seen a root canal performed on a tooth preped for a veneer.

Bleaching also, as CoV said...the veneers are matched into your natural tooth colour, so the need for bleaching for life is total rubbish, tbh. Any dentist that puts whiter than white veneers on your teeth & attempts to bleach the existing teeth to match to the veneers, isn't actually a very good cosmetic dentist imo....sorry to say, but it sounds to me like she doesn't want to do veneers for you!

So, COV , do you think in my case I should be thinking more in terms of crowns or do you think braces would be the better option ? Sorry if I'm putting you on the spot, oh and also for hi-jacking this thread !

Oh & also...lower teeth CAN be veneered....never heard of it being refused as nerves are too close to the surface.

'He also said that veneers on your top teeth can also wear away your bottom teeth as they are harder than natural enamel'

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in your body & can withstand more pressure than you could imagine. More pressure than porcelain can, I promise you! I have never known veneers to cause this problem.

I had veneers done 9 years ago and I have never looked back! My teeth before were gappy and I had peg teeth too which made them look crooked. I had them done in Dentics in Kensington. Othodontic treatment for me would have been too expensive (£20k) and too invasive, I would have had to wear a head brace. The veneers cost around £3k I can't remember exactly.

Before I had them done I was very self conscious of my teeth I always smiled with my mouth closed and hated talking to people who I didn't know. I was so pleased with the result and even now people comment on my straight teeth. My bite is not perfect, I would have needed orthodontic treatment to rectify that but I am not really bothered by that. It took 3 visits, 1st appointment they did a video image of me with new teeth, 2nd appointment they shaved off (ouch!) my old teeth and fitted temporary veneer type things and 3rd visit I had the proper veneers on, I had a real lisp for the first month which was just my mouth getting used to the different shape teeth.

Thanks for the info sandcastles - I'm really confused now as my teeth really aren't that bad. I was shown photos of some real horror stories that had been corrected by veneers but the dentist seemed to think there was a distinct possibility I could need root canal treatment.Obvioulsy you never know until the work is done, but she definitely seemed to think it was likely. Perhaps I had better shell out for another opinion then.

HullaBalloo, I think as CoV said, if your dentist thinks a root canal is a real possibility, then I feel that veneers aren't your best option. Veneers require literally a sliver of tooth to be removed. It can work on taking more off, but if your crowding is so extreme, then I would look into further options.

Hi sandcastles. I don't have extreme crowding - just one front tooth overlaps the other slightly, same with my bottom teeth. I am beginning to wonder if you are right in thinking she didn't want to take me on as a patient - she is a bit of a celebrity dentist so perhaps I don't fit her normal patient profile. I will definitely go and get another opinion. Can you recommend anyone?