Cosmetic dentist recommendations (London or surrounding)

[alwayslemons]

I'm really unhappy with my teeth. I used to have terrible buck teeth, the front two stuck out and looked ridiculous. Had braces as a teenager but kept losing my retainer so they eventually moved back.

Saved up for lingual braces (the ones that go on the back of your teeth) a few years ago and was really excited. I knew it would be a slow process but figured it would be worth it.

£6000 and five YEARS (!) later, they're still not finished. I've been taking pictures of my teeth to try to figure out exactly what it is that is bothering me, and it's two things (apart from the fact that they're still not quite straight... ortho promises we're almost there).

1. My gums have receded massively. My regular dentist says they're really bad for my age and honestly I think they make me look like an old woman. I had absolutely no idea that this could be caused by orthodontic work and I'm really upset that nobody mentioned this to me because it looks dreadful. Multiple gum grafts or pinhole surgery will be inevitable if I can ever afford it.

2. My teeth are enormous. In particular the two front teeth, which are not only huge but rounded at the sides instead of straight, and the ones next to them which are noticeably longer than they should be (and not just because of receding gums!). Ortho had originally said he'd have to file down the sides of my two front teeth a bit to make them straighter so they'd sit better, but now he's saying it would damage the enamel too much and he can't do it.

I used one of those photo editing apps which can sort of give you new virtual teeth, showed it to my ortho and asked if I could get closer to the small, neat, symmetrical, straight teeth I'd given myself with the app, and he said it's impossible without veneers - but also that veneers are generally a bad idea and I shouldn't do it. I don't particularly want veneers either and I feel like there must be another way??

I really want a second opinion from a really good cosmetic dentist. I can't seem to find any examples online of people who have had to make their teeth smaller though so I don't know exactly what kind of treatment I'm looking for or who go to. Also a lot of dentists who do cosmetic stuff charge £150+ just for a consultation, if I'm spending that I want to make sure I'm going to someone good who can actually help.

An online email consultation using photos would be great too, but, as I say, I've no idea who to go to.

If anyone has any recommendations or advice (or if anyone reading is a cosmetic dentist/orthodontist etc.) I would be eternally grateful.

Don't do veneers! You could do crowns but why ruin perfectly healthy teeth.

I can't help with some of your queries but I had receding gum transfers done by these guys as part of an implant and I'm really pleased.

Hi I have a similar problem to you had braces years ago my ortho told me I only needed retainer for a year then after having dc they moved back. I thought about treatment but it was so expensive and I was also made aware that the ortho treatment I had caused receeding gums and things and more treatment could make it worse in the long run. I am still self conscious now but I don't want to have fake teeth because I don't want to ruin healthy teeth even though I hate them if that makes sense. Cosmetic teeth don't last forever and you need to pay to have anything else done if anything happens to them. I'm now trying to learn to love them and they are apart of me and my uniqueness and just keep them clean. I'm also using hair colours to distract eyes from my teeth (I know that sounds strange) chances are people look at you when your talking not your teeth. I do sometimes still hate them and wish to change them though.

alwayslemons that's a long time in braces, I'm not a cosmetic dentist, just a generalist but it's not possible to make teeth significantly smaller as enamel is only so thick and removing too much makes teeth yellower, weaker and at risk of nerve problems.
Without seeing your teeth it may be a combination of factors; recession makes teeth appear bigger and it may be you have central incisors that are disproportionate to your lateral incisors- this can be due to wear or they may be nauturally like this, you may have a high lip line that is accentuating your tooth size or you may be more balanced than you think and just very self conscious having spent so long trying to perfect your smile.
A clinic such as wink1870 linked to would be an excellent starting point as it's a specialist clinic so full of dentists with an additional qualifications in periodontics, restorative etc. They will be able to advise you what you could or should do and the pros and cons of each. I would imagine they'll recommend face to face rather than a remote consultation and they can talk about cosmetic bonding, veneers, tooth shaping, gingival grafting.

Try the Gentle Dentist in Covent Garden