You guys think braces would help or should I get veneers?

[teebi]

I'm 25 / male. My teeth have always been like this. I have crooked teeth + many baby teeth.

I'm really self concious about it, and want to fix them, and I finally came into some money where i would not regret spending it if I can smile happily.

I went to an orthodontist, and he said I couldnt get invisalign id have to get metal braces, and he also recommended me to go see a surgeron for my underbite and see if i need surgery to fix it, but that was awhile ago, and i have not went back yet.

I would love to skip wearing braces at my age(he said 2 yrs+)

So I thought someone would have some good advice for me, appreciate it in advance.

pics
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to make it easier I uploaded a set of pics to drop.io

http://drop.io/vud8i2z

[sauerkraut]

I'm no expert but as I understand it veneers are only a cover-up, they need replacing eventually, and the tooth has to be filed down or something (=permanently damaged?) before the veneer can be fixed to it. Also I don't think they can do anything for an underbite and I'd be very surprised if you can fix them to baby teeth.

If you want a permanent, proper fix for your teeth and a healthy bite to last you a lifetime then get thee back to thy orthodontist

Just my humble opinion of course!

Oh, and please don't worry about your age. There are plenty of folks your age here and lots of us (ahem) quite a bit older, and it really isn't a problem. You'd be amazed how little other people care, or notice

[drrick]

Veneers alone will not do much for you here.
Veneers are great for correcting chipped and discolored teeth.

In your particular situation you have an anterior crossbite that would need to be corrected orthodontically. We cant see the condition of the upper teeth, but often you can do a combination of braces and veneers.
That would correct the crossbite and correct any chipping, wear, etc.

[teebi]

I'm no expert but as I understand it veneers are only a cover-up, they need replacing eventually, and the tooth has to be filed down or something (=permanently damaged?) before the veneer can be fixed to it. Also I don't think they can do anything for an underbite and I'd be very surprised if you can fix them to baby teeth.

If you want a permanent, proper fix for your teeth and a healthy bite to last you a lifetime then get thee back to thy orthodontist

Just my humble opinion of course!

Oh, and please don't worry about your age. There are plenty of folks your age here and lots of us (ahem) quite a bit older, and it really isn't a problem. You'd be amazed how little other people care, or notice

Thanks for the quick reply, I appreciate the vote of confidence!

Veneers alone will not do much for you here.
Veneers are great for correcting chipped and discolored teeth.

In your particular situation you have an anterior crossbite that would need to be corrected orthodontically. We cant see the condition of the upper teeth, but often you can do a combination of braces and veneers.
That would correct the crossbite and correct any chipping, wear, etc.

Interesting, I kinda figured this, I supposed I'm confused because I don't see a clear cut sign. Most people I have looked online seem to have fine teeth and braces make them look much better, but me my teeth are sorta crooked, small, and just not good at all even if they were not crooked, so I guess the combination of both is needed

[drrick]

Then it seems you need the best of both worlds.

Braces to align teh teeth to the proper position the cosmetic and restorative dentistry to correct the tooth shape -- baby teeth replacement, gum levels, etc.

[teebi]

I added a picture of full smile as well, sorry forgot to include that originally.

[evilnel]

It seems like you would benefit greatly from orthodontic treatment. As drrick point out, veneers are mostly for damaged or misshapen teeth, not for alignment issues. I'm no expert, but it looks like surgery would probably be your best route for correcting the underbite.

Don't worry about your age. I'm 24 and have been in braces 3 months now. Most people don't even glance at them twice!

[pigonthego]

Braces

[teebi]

It seems like you would benefit greatly from orthodontic treatment. As drrick point out, veneers are mostly for damaged or misshapen teeth, not for alignment issues. I'm no expert, but it looks like surgery would probably be your best route for correcting the underbite.

Don't worry about your age. I'm 24 and have been in braces 3 months now. Most people don't even glance at them twice!

Thanks, appreciate the reply, I realize you noted you are no expert, but you mind elaborating on the why surgery would be my best route? As opposed to trying to correct it without?

[Snowglobe32]

In the long run, ortho treatment is the best option. Veneers are just covering the true appearance of one's teeth. They can not fix a bite, they can not prevent teeth from wearing down each other, they can not prevent tmj or any other medical problems that can occur due to one's teeth.

You have many options with braces these days...metal, ceramic, linguals (behind the teeth). I will leave the question to the experts regarding surgery and the underbite but I will ask you to think about this...would you really want to give your money to a dentist who isn't concerned about the overall health of your teeth or correcting the underbite?? have you actually gone to a consultation for veneers? Are you sure you can get them with the bite issue?

[teebi]

In the long run, ortho treatment is the best option. Veneers are just covering the true appearance of one's teeth. They can not fix a bite, they can not prevent teeth from wearing down each other, they can not prevent tmj or any other medical problems that can occur due to one's teeth.

You have many options with braces these days...metal, ceramic, linguals (behind the teeth). I will leave the question to the experts regarding surgery and the underbite but I will ask you to think about this...would you really want to give your money to a dentist who isn't concerned about the overall health of your teeth or correcting the underbite?? have you actually gone to a consultation for veneers? Are you sure you can get them with the bite issue?

I understand fully with what you are saying, and I am a logical and sensible person, which is why I came here to get some sense in to me. I have done some research on the veneers and it definitley does not seem like the answer, however it is a quick fix if I am able to do it, and im at the point where I really want to fix it asap, but the smart thing to do is forgo the cosemtic part, and just make a smart decision for the long term of the teeth.

I have scheduled a consultation just to see if veneers are even a choice, and what they have to offer, however more times than none the internet and people like you guys are usually much more informed - whether that has to do with a bias on their part I can't say but more than likely.

[btfly]

OP, I'm 28 and will get braces next week. I have thought about not going through with it. Only because I think it will draw more attention to my bad looking teeth and I'll have to answer questions about them.

I'm nervous, but I'm going for it. I told my husband that 30 years from now I don't want to still have bad teeth and regret not taking 2 years at my age now to get it done.

Go for it. I don't want braces, but I want straight teeth and this is the only way to do it.

My DH asked if I could just get invisalign instead of metal. I told him, invisalign is for simpler cases and mine is no where near a simple case.

[dub02]

hey guys,

I was in the same boat. I'm braced until the end of July then going for Veneers. I'm 27 and hated the idea of wearing metal but I gave it a go and theres nothing to it, If I could have avoided braces I would and went straight for veneers. I reckon your a good candidate for veneers so if its 100% an option go for it.

At the end of the day its your personal happiness and self esteem that counts so do what will make you happy

[drrick]

My bet is there is no dentist in the world whop would veneer these teeth so that most likely isnt an option anyway.

The case may not be a surgical case. There isnt enough info to know for sure.

[evilnel]

It seems like you would benefit greatly from orthodontic treatment. As drrick point out, veneers are mostly for damaged or misshapen teeth, not for alignment issues. I'm no expert, but it looks like surgery would probably be your best route for correcting the underbite.

Don't worry about your age. I'm 24 and have been in braces 3 months now. Most people don't even glance at them twice!

Thanks, appreciate the reply, I realize you noted you are no expert, but you mind elaborating on the why surgery would be my best route? As opposed to trying to correct it without?

I should have rephrased and said 'it seems like surgery or orthodontics rather than veneers would be the best route.' I just assumed that since the ortho(s?) you consulted with suggested surgery, that might be necessary to correct it. It's possible once your adult teeth are in place things might be able to be shifted, but it seemed you indicated other orthodontists/dentists had suggested surgery as the best option. It seems like you are a little wary of the time and pain involved in surgery/orthodontics. In the 'our braces story' there are lots of people's stories of both, so you might want to check it out. I guess I'm not specifically advocating surgery (who wants it if they can avoid it?) just saying it's usually best to fix the underlying problem. Hope that clarifies!