Anyone had adult orthodontic work and/or veneers done?

[SueEllen]

Had mine done as a kid. Never bothered with the retainers (I was a teenager and it wasn't cool). Teeth aren't bad at all, but could be a lot better.

This ^^

Though I wore my retainers until I was suppose to wear them alternate night then I gave up.

[d000hg]

Splurged £3.5k about 15 years ago. All fillings removed and replaced with white ones, six crowns (included completely redoing my front teeth which were badly aligned) and whitening. Would probably cost double that amount today. Best money I've ever spent. Teeth look great, and have never given me any problems since.

Warning: Get a very, very good dentist. I went to a specialist, and not some high-street hack shop. Make sure they've been established at least 10 years, and get plenty of independent recommendations.

Interesting. I'm not sure if my local dentist (part of the Oasis group) is considered any good or a hack?

Sadly whitening isn't an option - they're transparent rather than yellow - because that would be far less worrying I think. Veneers they file away the surface first meaning you have to keep veneers for the rest of your life. And presumably are consigned to private dental work forever as well.

[jamesbrown]

The usual braces as a kid. Didn't have the best results; among other reasons, I didn't use the retainers properly. Then I went with Invasalign about 5 years ago. Had them for a couple of years, and they eventually worked very well - much slower than standard braces, and there's a limit to what they can fix, but the major bonus is that you can remove them when eating etc. and they are pretty much invisible. Cost was around 5k, but it's going to vary depending on the length of treatment. Although slow going, I would recommend them.

[yasockie]

I think about doing the same. In my case it's so severe that it is 1 year braces + a surgery.
I'll still do it, probably...

[Zero Liability]

If you have a recessive chin/jaw, bracers can actually aggravate the problem in the direction of the recession and worsen your appearance. It depends on age, of course, but if you're doing it for cosmetic reasons, I'd make sure the orthodontist understands facial aesthetics very well and perhaps even consult with a good maxillofacial surgeon first.

[nomadd]

Veneers they file away the surface first meaning you have to keep veneers for the rest of your life. And presumably are consigned to private dental work forever as well.

I've just re-read your OP. You also mention some straightening is required? Depending upon how much is needed, you may find crowns are a better option. Not sure if you've spoken to any surgeons at this stage?

In my case, the veneers would have only improved things so far. I had two front teeth with fairly bad overlap (plus some decay behind) so crowning was suggested as an option that would achieve the best, longest-lasting results. The dental surgeon I saw gave me all three options, from cheapest (fillings), moderate expense (veneers) and then expensive (four crowns at the front; the other two crowns were replacements for ones I'd had done years before.) Any decent surgeon should present you with options, costings, and the pros-cons of each approach.

One thing to bear in mind is the number of visits you may have to make - in my case it was 13 (lucky for some! ), spread over 3 months (surgeon was away on holiday for two weeks of that.) As I was taking a break from contracting at the time, it was no inconvenience. YMMV. ..You might not feel like going into work on a day where you've just spent 1-2 hours in a dentists chair...

I've always gone back to the same dentist since, and it's always been private. TBH, because the quality of the original work was so good, I've never really met any other great expense, so don't be put off by the "private" nature. Only exception to that was when I broke one of the crowns on a nut in a peach! Replacement plus a full whitening plus some x-rays came to £900. I've never touched a peach since.

Shop around before you commit, and go with someone who really knows their stuff. For instance, I've met lots of people with veneers and crowns that are simply not colour-matched properly to the surrounding teeth, so look very false. I've also seen teeth that are clearly not shaped correctly to follow the natural teeth that are left in place, again leaving them looking very false. It's the fine-detail that will make your teeth look great, rather than looking like an artificial mess. My own dental surgeon picks up plenty of "failed" attempts undertaken by other dentists, especially where people have gone overseas to have work done "on the cheap." My nearest high street dentistry has enough sense not to even attempt specialist work, and instead sends all their patients to the guy that I use.

My dental surgeon is based in North London. If that is of any use to you, PM me and I can give you the details.

[d000hg]

I've actually only one non-straight tooth really... one of my lower middle ones has been overcrowded a bit... it's mainly a problem that this causes it to get dirty than it being that noticeable otherwise.

Because nearly all my teeth - certainly all the front ones - have acid erosion (I think that's what causes the translucency) I think I'd need a full set of veneers rather than need them matching... every tooth you see when I smile might need doing!

I kind of wish you could just have all your teeth knocked out and replaced, except I don't think the replacements are anywhere near as good as the real thing - even when the real thing is a bit crap they are still incredibly hard-wearing.