Medically reviewed by Trino 
Straightening teeth is a goal frequently shared among adults and children alike, yet metal braces may not always be viable solutions.
For those who want to straighten their smile without braces, invisible aligners and retainers can be an effective and discreet option. Invisible aligners and retainers work are an efficient way of straightening teeth without the inconvenience of metal braces.
Dental crowns
Dental crowns are tooth-shaped caps designed to cover and restore damaged or decayed teeth, improving their shape, size, strength, and aesthetic appearance.
Teeth may become chipped or cracked through age, trauma, or impact; this compromises their appearance while increasing risk of infection. A crown covers this damage and prevents further breakage of your teeth.
Crowns not only protect and enhance your teeth’s durability, they can also be used to straighten them. This makes crowns especially effective at correcting minor misalignments that do not necessitate braces such as crooked or misshapen front teeth.
Placement of a dental crown begins by first reshaping the affected tooth using filling material such as paste or putty, before taking impressions to ensure that its placement won’t interfere with your bite.
Dental veneers
Dental veneers offer an effective alternative to braces if you want to straighten your teeth without them. Veneers are thin sheaths of porcelain or resin composite bonded directly onto the front surfaces of teeth for straightening purposes.
Cover up various cosmetic flaws in your smile with veneers – such as chips, cracks, gaps, minor misalignment and discoloration – by changing their shape or size. They may even help change how people perceive you!
Veneers may also be an ideal solution for patients who are dissatisfied with the color of their teeth, as this stain-resistant restoration can help you avoid having to whiten your teeth again in the near future.
To prepare your tooth for veneers, a dentist will remove a tiny layer of enamel from its surface and make impressions that will be sent off to a lab for fabrication. At a subsequent appointment with your dentist, veneers will then be installed.
Dental bonding
Bonding is an affordable and quick solution for correcting various smile issues, from minor chipped or cracked teeth to gaps between them. Bonding treatment requires no anesthetics and will cost much less than veneers or crowns compared to their use.
Dental bonding uses tooth-colored composite resin that’s meant to mimic natural enamel, then applied directly onto your tooth before being shaped and smoothed for repair of damaged areas.
Once bonding is complete, your dentist will complete it with a quick polish to ensure a natural-looking and beautiful outcome. However, as composite material is less durable than veneers or crowns, touch-ups may be needed in the future to keep it looking its best.
Retainers
Retainers can help ensure your teeth remain straight after orthodontic treatment has been completed. Custom-made retainers designed specifically to hold in their new positions may help ensure long-term alignment of the smile.
Retention is key in making sure the results of your braces or aligners last, so ensure that you wear them consistently! Retain your results from orthodontic work for life by adhering to the recommendations for use of braces or aligners!
After having undergone orthodontic treatment to correct misalignments of teeth or misalignments in your bite, your mouth still has the tendency to drift back toward its original state.
Once your orthodontist removes your braces, your bone and soft tissues need some time to adapt to their new arrangements.
Once this initial period of growth is over, your teeth may begin shifting back towards their original positions, necessitating another set of braces. Retainers help prevent this relapse and keep your smile looking fantastic for years!
Porcelain veneers
Porcelain veneers are an increasingly popular cosmetic dentistry treatment option. They can address many dental issues such as staining, chips, cracked teeth, spacing issues and uneven smiles.
Porcelain veneers may not be as effective in straightening crookedness than braces would, so if your teeth are severely misalign, porcelain veneers might not be an appropriate option for you.
At your initial consultation, your dentist will assess if you are an ideal candidate for dental veneers by considering cosmetic goals, photographs and X-rays.