Orthodontic treatment and composite veneers – which treatment should you have first?

If you’re looking for a new smile in the Southport, Manchester or Liverpool area, there may be a variety of treatment options available to you. And in this ‘Selfie’ age – where people are more and more conscious about their appearance – the number of patients looking for straighter, more aesthetically pleasing teeth seems to be on the rise.

Teeth straightening is certainly not confined to the younger demographic either. I have patients of all ages who’ve decided the time is right to fix something that’s been bothering them for years. At the same time, the use of composite to resolve imperfections on the teeth, alter shape and make the smile more symmetrical is becoming a popular, post-straightening request from patients. Quite often, the two go hand in hand – it’s only when you align teeth, you start to take more notice of their shape and length next to neighbouring ones. That’s where composite bonding or composite veneers really come into their own.

For patients who already know they want straighter teeth, as well as reshaping, they’re often unsure about which treatment they can have first. Some aim for a quick fix and see composite veneers as a way to achieve that, hoping they can leave the brace option for later. The truth is, any type of composite work on misaligned teeth involves more invasive drilling to achieve a smooth, flat surface, and damaging otherwise healthy teeth is not ideal or recommended.

For that reason, if you have misaligned teeth, brace treatment and teeth whitening should always be the precursor to any sort of composite veneer or bonding work. By ensuring your teeth are in the right position first and are the optimum shade for you, composite can be applied seamlessly – and it’s always those final small tweaks at the end that really deliver the biggest results in terms of symmetry.

So think straighten first, shape second – and you’ll have a new smile that won’t even need Instagram’s filter to make it shine!