Your smile is crooked, it’s off, it’s just not the kind of perfect you want – in dental speak, this is known as an asymmetrical smile. It’s not crooked or quirky or charming, there’s clearly something about it that may have once been right but is right no longer. Can this imbalance be fixed? Of course. Porcelain veneers can do just about anything.

The Causes of an Asymmetrical Smile

If you think about asymmetry in nature, it can be a gorgeous thing. A mama bear beside a baby bear, a tree with more leaves on the left than the right, a fiddler crab with one giant claw and one small. What we appreciate in nature, however, is not necessarily what we embrace on our own body and being.

Smiles, in particular, are not meant to be lopsided. You aren’t supposed to have shorter teeth on one side and longer teeth on the other. While some people might love this characteristic about themselves, it’s actually not healthy for your smile and could lead to severe dental problems down the line if you allow it to carry on without a smile makeover. A perfect smile is possible.

That asymmetrical smile is usually caused by one of the following functional problems:

  • Teeth grinding and clenching: Unconscious teeth grinding and clenching, especially while sleeping, is the fastest route to a deteriorating smile. If you don’t have a nightguard to protect your lower jaw from your upper jaw crashing down into it, your tooth enamel will take the brunt and begin to wear away. If this habit occurs more on one side of the mouth, the worn teeth can begin to create an asymmetrical smile.
  • Gum recession: Another side effect of teeth grinding is gum recession. The extreme pressure of teeth pushing on each other eventually leads to receding gums. This is a problem aesthetically in that it that makes your teeth look longer and reveals more of a tooth, makes you more susceptible to gum disease and tooth decay, and, of course, creates that asymmetrical smile.

Balance Your Smile with Porcelain Veneers

All this being said, an asymmetrical smile can be stunning and part of your unique look – but only if that’s the smile that genetics intended. If your asymmetry is caused by unconscious habits or deteriorating dental health, it’s time to talk to your dentist about how to fix all the unsightliness and all the problems you’re now at risk of developing.

Chances are, your dentist will recommend porcelain veneers because this cosmetic dentistry procedure does all the work that needs to be done to even out your smile again:

  • Eliminate imbalance through customized shape and size.
  • Are built up more over certain teeth to conceal the more broken-down areas.
  • Thickness and length are adjusted to allow for symmetry in the smile makeover
  • Wholly customized size, shape, length, color, and more to flatter you

Contact Smiles by the Sea in Hampton, NH, to find out more about the smile makeover that’s right for you and whether you’re a good candidate for porcelain veneers.