The art of orthodontics sometimes requires your Dr. to makes small changes to the size and shape of the teeth to achieve the best result and there is a lot of misinformation that is connected to this “grinding” on the teeth. Since it is such a vital part of some of our patients treatment plans, I felt it made sense to discuss it in this forum.
Some teeth are too triangular leaving dark triangles by the gumline. Other teeth might be different in length from grinding or dental injury. While some teeth on the bottom or top arch might look perfect but require reshaping to help accomodate smaller teeth that may be present in the opposing dental arch. This tooth size discrepancy, created because are teeth are not perfect dominos that come out of a box exactly the right size and shape, is more common than you may think.
Our orthodontists take advantage of high-tech, specialized tools to reshape the teeth to solve these problems. And the best part is, it doesn’t even hurt one bit! It also often provides greater stability to the teeth so that they are less likely to scramble up or relapse after your braces are done.
There are circumstances where a composite tooth colored build-up of the “smallish” tooth/teeth is more appropriate and our orthodontists will discuss this with you during treatment.
There is an art to doing this procedure the correct way but, when done properly, it can make a significant contribution to the overall quality of the orthodontic treatment.
