Sara saw me last year unhappy with her smile – a number of her front teeth were crossed over and slanted and close examination showed that a number of them had also been chipped and worn. Although of lesser concern to Sara, there was also a canine on the lower jaw that was heavily twisted around – 10years ago I would have had sleepless nights thinking how I was going to correct that canine but now days Invisalign’s technology handles these movements easily. 

For me the first key to success would to upright the middle and back teeth -Why? Two reasons firstly by uprighting these teeth we would “widen the arch” allowing a more full smile where we get to see more teeth, it also has the effect of repositioning the gums slightly to reduce the amount of gum on display, The second reason is that by bringing the teeth out to where they should be, it gives us plenty of room to achieve Sara’s main goal – getting those front teeth straight!
Second key to success? Sorting that rotated canine in the lower jaw- Why? The position of the canines is really important because when they are in the right place they help to direct and guide the teeth during eating. Think of them as the conductors of your mouth – they make sure all the forces you generate go on the right teeth, at the right angle, at the right time. When they are out of position we will often see a patient develop problems with chipping and wear over time. Sara’s lower canine had been slacking off for way to long – time to put it back to work!.