TOOTH RECONTOURING

Reshaping your Teeth

Tooth Recontouring or Odontoplasty is a safe and inexpensive way of reshaping irregular teeth. Recontouring a tooth is a permanent way to change a tooth's shape and appearance. Both the look and feel of individual teeth, and the appearance of your whole smile can be dramatically improved with this simple technique. Tooth recontouring is also known as enamel reduction, because the procedure is restricted to the enamel layer of the tooth.

Minimally Invasive Treatment 

Tooth recontouring is a viable treatment option where there is a reasonable thickness of tooth enamel available to be removed. When undertaken judiciously, this procedure will not compromise the health of your teeth.

When may an Odontoplasty be a Viable Treatment Option?

You may be a suitable candidate for this procedure if your teeth -

• feel rough,
• are slightly chipped,
• misshapen,
• uneven, or
• out of proportion,
• have worn edges from teeth grinding,
• are too long, or
• slightly overlapped
• more space is required to align teeth during some orthodontic treatment plans - termed Inter-proximal reduction

Inter-proximal reduction (IPR), the shaving of enamel between teeth during clear aligner therapy to help correct crowding, can be considered a form of tooth recontouring.

Considering Odontoplasty of your Front Teeth for Aesthetic Reasons

Altering the contours of teeth is often recommended for the upper or lower front teeth. At the front of the mouth, minimal tooth reduction is able to change the proportion and alignment of specific teeth to significantly improve the uniformity and symmetry of your smile.

Planning Extensive Enamel Reduction

When you are in the process of considering this treatment for multiple front teeth some planning will be required. Following an outline of enamel reduction helps us (a) ensure we remove the most minimal amount of enamel that is necessary to meet your goals and (b) you have the best idea of how this may look before you decide to proceed with treatment.

We scan your teeth, take photographs and mark out a mock plan of enamel reduction to which aims to meet your concerns. We do this to show you how this procedure may change the teeth look and to help understand if this will meet your expectations. In this way, the planning process may help you better visualise the treatment outcome before a tooth is touched.

Reshaping Teeth 

The process of reshaping the teeth involves slightly trimming, smoothing or polishing dental enamel to achieve minor adjustments in tooth shape and contour

Teeth are reshaped carefully, in a slow and precise way to minimise the amount of enamel removed. Continual checking and rechecking of tooth shape and smile proportion is undertaken throughout the procedure.

Once ideal dimensions are achieved, a fluoride varnish is applied to reshaped tooth surfaces to protect and further harden newly polished enamel. This technique is minimally invasive because less than 1 mm of enamel is removed.

No Tooth Sensitivity

Reshaping of teeth can usually be accomplished within one appointment and does not require local anaesthetic. It should not cause sensitivity. The removal of such small amounts of enamel does not harm the tooth over the long term. Reshaping a tooth will not make the tooth more vulnerable to tooth decay or further chipping. In fact, further chipping of a tooth may be reduced because thin, weak unsupported enamel is filed away.

If a tooth has a larger chip or issue, which cannot be safely managed by enamel reduction, dental bonding may be a more appropriate treatment option to consider.

A dental examination is always needed to assess your circumstances and diagnose your condition first.  Only then, can we determine the best treatment for your teeth and whether tooth recontouring is suitable treatment option for you. Once enamel is removed it is a permanent change to your tooth.