“One of my front teeth is shorter than the other. How to fix?”
One of my front top teeth is a bit shorter than the other. Can the longer tooth be filed down a bit to match the length of the other tooth?
10 Answers
Yes, it can be filed down, or tooth-colored material can be added to the short one to match the longer one. Something to consider is what causes them to be uneven.
You could move it with some minor orthodontics, cosmetic bonding or a veneer can also alter the length of the tooth.
There are several means by which this can be treated. The teeth can be veneered or crowned, however, I find this to be aggressive. Often times, filing down the tooth slightly to match the length of the other tooth is the way to go. This can only occur to a certain extend prior to causing damage to the tooth. If that is the case the smaller tooth may be built up to match the larger tooth.
The tooth needs actual examination by your dentist.
One needs to ask themselves, why or how did that happen? If one arm was longer than the other, most often that would be a developmental defect. But in teeth, often it is a result of wear function. This would mean lengthening or shortening may not solve or even last any significant amount of time due to inadequate space or function and grinding. It needs to be evaluated as to the proper treatment approach.
Hmm, this is a tricky question because unless you determine why the tooth is shorter, then any attempt to align the lengths will relapse. See your dentist and get a first hand opinion.
An orthodontist needs to evaluate this by X-ray and clinical observation to determine the most convenient way to level the two teeth as well as adjust any problem that might be the cause of it. Habits can cause teeth to be different links such as excessive pipe smoking can put under pressure on one particular tooth and not affect the adjacent one.
Yes, if it’s a minor difference, then the longer one can be filed down by a dentist as long as it will not compromise the tooth in anyway (we cannot drill too much off).
Michael S.P. Tam
Dentist
That depends on the status of your bite (occlusion). One has to also find out what caused the two teeth to be uneven. It could also be caused by the the mis-alignment of the opposing lower teeth. The longer tooth can be filed down to match, but the disadvantage of doing this would be the incisal enamel is lost. Better to lengthen the short tooth with bonding or veneer if occlusion permits, and the final result is cosmetically pleasing.
Determining the reason of why that tooth is shorter is the first step. Is it rotated or pushed forward or backwards are some questions to evaluate. If it's a positional problem, this may be corrected with braces or Invisalign. If the teeth are aligned properly, then cosmetic work can be done such as veneers/crowns/bonding. Sometimes it's necessary to do a combination of the 2.
