Crooked Teeth
Choices of Treatment to Correct Crooked Teeth
Porcelain Crowns
Porcelain crowns can make crooked teeth look perfectly straight in only 2 weeks or less. The shapes of the teeth and the color of the teeth can be permanently improved to almost any desired level. With crowns, the teeth require some grinding but the results are permanent and there is no need to wear a retainer for the rest of the patient’s life. Porcelain crowns will hold the crooked teeth in the same position because of the seamless contact between the teeth.
Porcelain crowns not only look better than natural teeth, but they can also feel better. Porcelain crowns can be much smoother than natural teeth, especially if there is gum recession that is common among adult patients. The smooth surface on the new high tech porcelain crowns does not stain and does not collect as much calculus as with crooked teeth. If done with high quality technique, the porcelain crowns can last a lifetime. Dr. Sam Muslin has only been practicing for 31 years and some of his patients have recently had 30-year-old crowns replaced. The quality of his work is at his all time best.
Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are another choice for correcting crooked teeth and require less tooth reduction than porcelain crowns. With the right technique, porcelain veneers can make crooked teeth look perfectly straight with little to no tooth grinding at all. The porcelain veneer technique is determined based upon the degree of crookedness and how much the teeth are tipped. Much like porcelain crowns, veneers are smoother than natural teeth, stain far less than natural teeth and can make the teeth permanently whiter. Depending on the goals of the treatment, sometimes, porcelain veneers can be combined with porcelain crowns to save tooth structure and make the crooked teeth look whiter, straight and healthy. Dr. Muslin calls this technique "Instant Braces" because crooked teeth are made to look straight in as little as two weeks.
Orthodontics or Invisalign ®
In some cases, the best treatment to correct crooked teeth can be orthodontics or Invisalign ®; but, the patient has to be willing to prolong treatment over a 1 to 2 year stretch. The patient also has to be willing to wear a retainer indefinitely, so that the teeth do not relapse back to being crooked again. Many adults who go through orthodontics are not very happy with the results after 1 to 2 years of wearing braces since most already have gum recession, yellow teeth, worn down or misshaped teeth are. Generally, the younger patients have less damage to their natural teeth, so after orthodontics, the immediate results are excellent. But, as time goes by, the teeth can wear and the gum that fits between the teeth (papilla) can recede. If the papilla is lost, the patient has holes between the teeth. The Instant Braces technique can actually get the gum to grow back up between the teeth for the best possible results.