Hi I am 17 years old and I have had gum problems for majority of my life. I first received braces at the age of 13 to straighten my teeth since the gums over lapped and caused them to space out. They trimmed it down, hoping that the problem to my situation would go away. Instead it got even worse and it grew back. They make my teeth look really small and makes it hard for the braces to stay on cause they pop after a while. I don't know what to do. At this point I see braces as useless to me because they aren't helping out. I would like to smile and have teeth showing instead of gums. Its bad enough that my social life is having a bit of a down fall cause of my mouth. What do I need to do? Can I send you a picture of what it looks like so you can get what I am trying to explain?
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OK, firstly, consult your dentist (I was about to type doctor lol), tell him/her exactly what you told us now and then ask for advice. The dentist will most likely smile and say: "BRACES!!! MWAHHAHAH!!" (probably without the evil laugh tho) - but hopefully he/she won't, if he/she does, find another dentist.

secondly, the only reason your social life is having a down fall is because you are letting your problem with your gums ruin it for u. what I mean is, you are who you are and shouldn't let other people judge you, nor should you care if they do. I understand that, being 17, you might believe that you have no life if you don't have a social life or that it is really important to look good. The truth is, nobody really cares, except your friends and family of course.

continue your social life like normal while going to dentists for advice/help. Another idea, and I don't know if you have done this or not, is to speak to your folks and see what they say.

you don't have to smile by showing your teeth, just raise the corners of your mouth - I personally hate smiling and showing teeth lol, I don't like it. Makes me uncomfortable for sum reason :)

so, chin up, smile and be yourself :)

Is there any chance that you take dilantin for epilepsy? If you do, that can cause overgrowth of your gum tissues and your orthodontist should be aware that you are on this medication. It will affect his treatment plan for you.

If this isn't the case, it's really important to do a better than normal brushing 2-3 times a day when you have braces on. An electric toothbrush such as the Oral B Vitality is an ideal choice. You can get special orthodontic brushes for this particular brush to clean better above and below the ortho attachment.

By the time you are 18 your teeth should have erupted to the level they will be at the rest of your life. Perhaps you need gum tissue augmentation if you have more tooth under the gum than there should be. You need to see a dentist who does a lot of this kind of treatment. Someone who specializes in "smile makeovers" would be a good starting point.

You need to see a periodontist that is a dentist that takes care of gum tissue problems good luck