Dr. Hall,
My question concerns an issue of cosmetic dentistry versus plastic surgery. As I have aged, my upper lip has descended a few millimeters. Now when I smile, you don’t see as much of my upper teeth as you should. I don’t think I want to do plastic surgery to raise my upper lip. I am told that many surgeons don’t do the procedure, and the results vary greatly, and scarring is an issue. Thus, I would like to approach the problem from the inside.
When I’m not smiling, I look fine, good enough for me. So I am interested in having cosmetic dentistry for my teeth to make the upper teeth longer–a few milimeters or so. The result will hopefully be that when I smile then, you will see the upper teeth as you should. Will this work? My bite (with essentially longer upper teeth) would be different I suppose, but the concept seems doable to me as a layman. Please let me know your thoughts, and what would be involved to do this. My dentist here does not know. Thanks,
– Gary in Texas
Dear Gary,
You came to the right place with a question like this. Yes, your type of case is way beyond the expertise of any general dentist. As you said, your own dentist doesn’t have a clue.
But for an expert cosmetic dentist, this is what they do. Yes, this is possible to do and is done frequently. I am confident that any of our listed Texas cosmetic dentists would have experience with lengthening the teeth and would be comfortable doing this. It involves doing a smile makeover with porcelain veneers. Yes, they have to be careful because it does affect the bite, and if they don’t know what they are doing, the porcelain veneers will chip and break.
Good luck,
Dr. Hall
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About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.