What is teeth shaving?

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#1 Post by **Will VT** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 11:58 am

I don't know a ton about it, but I'd imagine it can be done for cosmetic reasons as well as to simply make some extra room without doing an extraction. In my case, my ortho is going to try to make all my bottom teeth fit into place without an extraction, but there's not much room. At the very least, he expects to shave a bit off both sides of each incisor to make room for them all to fit together.

#2 Post by **SimInsomniac** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 12:07 pm

Shaving, also referred to as IPR, is when the edges of teeth are shaved down either to make slightly more room, or to make them more aesthetically pleasing.
If you shave the sides of teeth which form the dreaded black triangles, and wait for the gap that shaving makes to close, then in theory the triangle will be reduced/gone. There's no "right" way for teeth to look. I prefer more square incisors and I hope to have mine that way by the end. Everyone has their own personal preferences though.
I also want to have all my lower incisors shaved on the top edges because they're so jagged now. That shouldn't be as bad seeing as there won't be gaps leftover.

Hope that helps in any way.
Sim

#3 Post by **rsprouse** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 12:34 pm

Shaving, also referred to as IPR, is when the edges of teeth are shaved down either to make slightly more room, or to make them more aesthetically pleasing.
If you shave the sides of teeth which form the dreaded black triangles, and wait for the gap that shaving makes to close, then in theory the triangle will be reduced/gone.

Not entirely true. IPR = Interproximal reduction. It is not shaving the edge of the teeth but rather the side that abuts the adjacent tooth, also known as the interproximal space. You are really lowering the contact point to allow the papilla (little pink thingy of gum between teeth) to fill in the space. Papilla in health can only grow reliably to 5-7 mm above the crest of ridge. There are a lot of details that come in to play and if you have more questions I can explain more.

There's no "right" way for teeth to look. I prefer more square incisors and I hope to have mine that way by the end. Everyone has their own personal preferences though.
I also want to have all my lower incisors shaved on the top edges because they're so jagged now. That shouldn't be as bad seeing as there won't be gaps leftover.

Hope that helps in any way.
Sim

Reshaping teeth is known as aesthetic re-contouring. You can take some away or add composite (tooth colored filling material) to reshape the teeth. Other options are crowns or veneers.

Best,
Rory

#4 Post by **SimInsomniac** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 1:29 pm

Thanks rsprouse,

I clearly hadn't done any research into the subject, just read on here about IPR + contouring and assumed it was the same thing.

That's good to know for future reference.

Sim

#5 Post by **looloog** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:40 pm

I had my teeth shaved monday right before braces were put on to make more room. And Ill probably need my teeth shaved to make them look more the way I want. I never knew until recently that you can shave teeth. I thought it was a no-no or it did something bad to teeth but I think its pretty common.....right???

#6 Post by **TuZZi** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:06 am

My ortho shaved my uppers at my 2nd to last appointment. It didn't hurt a bit, and I can't wait for him to do my lowers next! My uppers look so "finished" now, as they are all rounded on the edges, and flat along the bottom. Didn't hurt one bit.