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Sometimes teeth are strong and healthy but are simply too small, resulting in unsightly gaps between them and possibly a poor bite. Such teeth look out of proportion and might also be misshapen or misaligned.
There are several reasons why a person’s teeth may be too small or will look too small. Sometimes the cause is genetics. Another time it could be because a person has teeth that appear too small in relation to the rest of their facial features. Some people have a problem where a few teeth, usually in the upper jaw, will fail to develop properly, so they are smaller than the other teeth. Teeth can be the proper size but are covered with excess gum tissue called a gummy smile. Teeth can get smaller over time due to being worn down, often by tooth grinding and clenching, called bruxism.
When an adult has naturally small teeth, it is a condition called microdontia and commonly affects the upper lateral incisors but may affect all the adult teeth. These teeth can be normally shaped or peg-shaped. It is rare for microdontia to have an underlying genetic cause, but it can be due to issues that include cleft lip or palate, Down syndrome, pituitary dwarfism, or when a child received chemotherapy or radiation therapy during infanthood or early childhood, before the age of six while teeth were still forming.
If you have small teeth or teeth that aren’t quite the right size or shape or are misaligned, there is nothing you can do to fix them naturally. You will need professional dental care to achieve desired results while protecting your dental health.
If teeth are too small or have unsightly gaps between them, it’s often possible to treat them with dental bonding or crowns or veneers.
Dental bonding is the easiest treatment requiring minimal preparation as the composite resin bonding material will adhere strongly to your natural teeth. The composite resin can be applied chairside, hardened, and shaped before it is polished. We can treat several teeth in a single appointment, and you may not even require a local anesthetic. However, dental bonding can be less suitable for altering the size and shape of multiple teeth, and it’s not a long-term solution. Dental bonding must be replaced every few years as the material can stain and discolor, and it can chip or crack more easily compared with porcelain crowns and veneers.
Dental crowns cover the entire tooth and can close or reduce the size of gaps between teeth and ensure they are the correct length and size. All-ceramic crowns can create a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing smile, but treatment can be quite expensive, especially when multiple crowns are needed. However, treatment can last for years before you need to replace the crowns.
Small teeth veneers are a popular option; treatment is minimally invasive with little preparation. Veneers for small teeth cover only the front, sides, and incisal edges and can create a much more aesthetically pleasing smile. Porcelain veneers are another long-term solution and can last for years before they must be replaced.
If your small teeth result from teeth grinding and clenching, then it’s important to receive treatment for bruxism. Otherwise, bruxism can damage new restorations like crowns, veneers, or dental bonding.
Some people have a gummy smile, where a tooth is the correct length but is covered with an excess of gum tissue, and the condition can affect several teeth. If you have a gummy smile, it means you show too much gum when you smile or talk, and it can make it appear as if your teeth are too short. When this is the case, removing the gum tissue can correct the problem. The excess gum tissue is removed, and the gums are nicely shaped to frame the tooth beautifully.
Recontouring your gums can provide excellent results, and treatment can make maintaining good oral health easier afterward. Crown lengthening is a treatment that will expose more of the natural tooth by removing gum tissue and sometimes by reshaping the jawbone. It can also be carried out in preparation for crowning or veneering teeth and is useful if a tooth has broken off near the gumline and is too short to be restored successfully. Exposing more of the natural tooth makes it easier to place the new restoration.
Longer teeth can look more attractive and are frequently considered a sign of youthfulness since teeth wear down with age. Longer teeth also help maintain the correct facial dimensions, especially between the upper and lower jaws. When teeth are too short, there is inadequate support for the facial muscles in your cheeks and lips. Consequently, facial features may collapse inward, creating an appearance that is prematurely aged. By restoring teeth to their proper length, we can ensure your cheeks and lips are fully supported and that your teeth are nicely and attractively contoured to complement your facial features. At the same time, restoring these facial dimensions also helps protect your jaw joints, ensuring they are not placed under too much pressure that could make them inflamed and painful.
It’s not unusual to have one or two teeth that aren’t quite the right size or shape or are out of alignment. If you are concerned about small teeth in adults and want to learn how to make teeth longer, visit Century Dental for the best dental care.
Century Medical and Dental Center is an accredited healthcare facility in NY that operates in accordance with Article 28, a public health law. This law regulates and recognizes accreditation for public healthcare facilities, ensuring they are licensed and operated correctly. By undergoing the Article 28 process and achieving accreditation, Century Medical and Dental Center demonstrates its commitment to meeting the highest standards of care.
As a multidisciplinary medical center, we have highly qualified doctors, nurses, and support staff who are working hard to provide the best medical care to patients in Midtown Manhattan, NY, Downtown Brooklyn, NY, including Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, and Bedford-Stuyvesant.