I am in the middle of a full-mouth reconstruction and I am not sure if I want to complete it. The lower teeth were done first. They look beautiful because I hired an AACD-accredited dentist. I know it sounds weird but that is what is bothering me. They look so perfect. I had a quirky smile and this just looks like your typical celebrity smile. I feel stupid but I miss the quirkiness of my smile. The reason for the reconstruction to begin with is that I had been grinding my teeth down. My dentist didn’t mention it until they were ground down and then he told me that I needed a full-mouth reconstruction. I was a little annoyed, which is how I started doing research about what it means and who should do it. That led me to getting an accredited dentist. Will I have to get the uppers done? Can I just whiten the uppers so they don’t look so perfect as the bottoms?
Callie
Dear Callie,
First, I want to tell you that your original dentist could and should have told you about the grinding to begin with. That would have saved you this expense and hassle. All you would have needed was a simple mouthguard and your teeth would have been protected even with the grinding. I’m going to suggest you find a different dentist who is more interested in protecting your teeth. Though, that doesn’t help with your present predicament.
If you are worried about the smile looking too perfect, I would say take full advantage of the skill an AACD accredited dentist has. What I mean by that is they are tasked with making Hollywood smiles all day long. I think they would jump with glee at the chance to make a quirky smile. You could literally get whatever you wanted and make a dentist and ceramist’s day with your desire for it not to be perfect.
As for just not completing it and just whitening, I haven’t seen your case, so couldn’t tell you with definitely. While you can definitely whiten, what I can tell you is that if the damage isn’t too bad, you can just get a mouthguard to protect them for further grinding. This will be important because the crowns on your lower teeth will be a bit more abrasive on the uppers than your natural teeth are. If the damage is bad, you will want to complete the case. Having a collapsed bite can lead to pain and serious TMJ Disorder.
Just remember, you can get quirky.
This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.