By Dr. Gregg Barry · Published 16 June 2026
Peg-shaped lateral incisors are one of those things people live with for years without ever realising how simple they are to fix. You know the ones — the two small, slightly pointed teeth either side of your front teeth that never quite grew to full size. Some people have one, some have both. And almost everyone who has them assumes the fix is going to be a big, invasive ordeal.
Here’s the honest answer: it usually isn’t. Building up peg laterals is something we do regularly at Docklands Dental — it’s one of the things our cosmetic bonding work was practically made for — and it’s genuinely one of our favourite small transformations — because the difference two carefully shaped teeth make to a whole smile is out of all proportion to the work involved. Let’s walk through what’s actually going on, and what your real options are.
The case you’ll see photographed throughout this article is a real Docklands patient (shared with their kind permission) — peg-shaped lateral incisors on both sides, corrected with composite bonding in a single visit. No braces, no drilling, no removal of healthy tooth.
What exactly is a peg-shaped lateral incisor?
A peg lateral is a lateral incisor that developed smaller and more conical than normal — a harmless developmental difference, not decay or damage, and one of the most common tooth-shape variations we see in Dublin.
Your lateral incisors are the teeth directly beside your two central front teeth. When one (or both) of them is undersized and tapers towards the tip like a little peg or cone, that’s what we call a peg lateral. It’s a developmental thing — the tooth simply formed that way, often runs in families, and frequently shows up on both sides symmetrically.
It’s not a health problem. The tooth is usually perfectly sound. What people don’t love is the look: a small, pointy tooth that leaves a gap on either side, so the smile can look a little uneven or “gappy” even when everything else is fine. That’s almost always why people come to see us about it — not pain, just the aesthetics.
How do you fix a peg-shaped lateral incisor?
There are three real options — composite bonding, porcelain veneers, or occasionally a crown — and for most peg laterals in Dublin we can build the tooth back to a natural shape in a single visit at €450 per tooth.
The principle is the same whichever route you take: we add material to the small tooth to give it the proper width, height and shape so it sits in harmony with the teeth around it. The differences are in what we add and how.
- Composite bonding (composite veneers) — we hand-sculpt tooth-coloured composite resin directly onto the peg tooth, layer by layer, in the chair (under rubber dam isolation, which keeps the field perfectly dry so the bond is as strong as it can possibly be). No lab, usually no needles, and crucially no removal of healthy tooth structure. It’s non-invasive, and for a small peg it’s often the perfect answer.
- Porcelain veneers — a thin, custom-made ceramic shell bonded to the front of the tooth. Made in a lab, so it takes a couple of appointments, but the strength, stain resistance and lifelike quality are a step up. We tend to favour feldspathic porcelain for this work because it’s the most translucent, natural-looking ceramic there is — and on a small front tooth where the eye is unforgiving, that matters.
- A crown — only really needed if the tooth has other problems (a large old filling, root treatment, structural weakness). For a healthy peg, a crown is usually overkill, and we’d steer away from it.
The research backs up how durable these restorations can be — a systematic review in the Journal of Conservative Dentistry looking at over 75,000 composite restorations found that, with proper technique and care, they perform well over many years, with fracture (not decay) being the most common reason for eventual repair. In practice, that’s exactly what we see: a well-made composite build-up on a peg lateral is a small, low-drama thing to look after.
Composite bonding or porcelain veneers — which is better for a peg lateral?
For most patients, composite bonding is the ideal starting point — it’s non-invasive and costs €250 to €450 per tooth — while porcelain veneers at €1,200 per tooth are the longer-lasting, more lifelike choice when you want maximum durability.
Look, we know everyone wants a simple “this one’s best” answer, and the truth is it depends on you. Here’s how we usually frame it.
Composite bonding wins on conservatism and cost. We don’t touch the underlying tooth, it’s done in one appointment, and if it ever chips it’s straightforward to repair or refresh. For younger patients especially — teenagers and people in their twenties whose smiles are still settling — it’s often exactly the right first step, precisely because it keeps every option open for the future.
Porcelain veneers win on longevity and that last 5% of realism. A systematic review in the European Journal of Dentistry found porcelain veneers bonded to enamel can achieve survival rates above 90% at both 15 and 20 years — which is part of why we think of them as a genuinely long-term investment rather than a quick fix. The trade-off is they cost more, take a couple of visits, and may need a tiny amount of preparation. For a peg lateral, that prep is usually minimal because the tooth is already small — there’s room to add a shell without aggressively reshaping what’s there.
If you want to go deeper on the trade-offs, we’ve written a full honest comparison of composite bonding versus porcelain veneers that applies directly here.
Do you need braces or Invisalign first?
Sometimes, yes — when a peg lateral has left uneven gaps, three to six months of orthodontics first can redistribute the space so the rebuilt tooth ends up the right width, rather than forcing one tooth to fill an awkward gap on its own.
This is the part most people don’t expect, and it’s where getting the sequencing right really matters. Because a peg lateral is narrow, the space around it is often uneven — too much gap on one side, not enough on the other. If we simply bulk up the peg to close all that space, we can end up with one fat, unnatural-looking tooth.
The more elegant answer is often to move the teeth first — usually with Invisalign — so the spaces are shared out evenly and symmetrically. Then we build the laterals to an ideal, natural width. For this kind of orthodontic work we collaborate with the specialist orthodontists at ISCD (the Institute of Specialist and Cosmetic Dentistry), the specialist practice we work closely with — Dr. Susan O’Connell and Dr. Erfan Salloum handle the alignment, and we handle the restorative work afterwards. It’s not always necessary (plenty of peg laterals can be built up beautifully with no ortho at all), but when the spacing is off, doing it in the right order is the difference between a good result and a great one.
If whitening is on your wish list too, we’d do that before any bonding or veneers — composite and porcelain are colour-matched to your final tooth shade, and they don’t whiten afterwards, so the order genuinely matters.
How much does it cost to fix a peg lateral incisor in Dublin?
At Docklands Dental, building up a peg lateral with composite is €450 per tooth, while a feldspathic porcelain veneer is €1,200 per tooth — so correcting both laterals typically runs from about €900 in composite up to €2,400 in porcelain.
We’re always upfront about money, so here are the real numbers:
- Edge bonding / minor additions — €250 per tooth for minor reshaping.
- Composite veneer (full build-up of a peg) — €450 per tooth. Two laterals, roughly €900.
- Feldspathic porcelain veneer — €1,200 per tooth. Two laterals, roughly €2,400.
- If orthodontics is needed first — clear aligners are provided through ISCD, typically €2,500 to €3,500 depending on the case, and that would be on top of the restorative cost.
What we won’t do is quote you a price before we’ve actually looked at your teeth and understood what you’re trying to achieve — you can read more about our approach to pricing across treatments in our guide to cosmetic dentistry costs in Dublin. No discounts, no pressure, no “today only” nonsense. Just an honest plan and an honest figure.
How long does treatment take, and how long will it last?
Composite build-ups are usually completed in a single appointment of one to two hours, porcelain veneers take two visits over about two to three weeks, and both can last well over a decade with good care.
Composite is the instant gratification option — you walk in with peg laterals and walk out, the same day, with full-sized natural-looking teeth. Porcelain takes a little patience: we prepare and take impressions at the first visit, the lab hand-makes your veneers, and we bond them at the second.
On longevity: composite bonding typically gives you many good years before it might want a refresh or repair, and porcelain veneers, as that European research showed, are routinely going strong at 15 to 20 years. Neither is “fit and forget” — they like the same things your natural teeth do (a good brushing routine, not using your front teeth as a bottle opener) — but for a couple of small teeth, the upkeep is genuinely minimal.
Will it look natural — even if it’s just one tooth?
Yes — matching a single rebuilt lateral to its neighbours is one of the most demanding things in cosmetic dentistry, which is exactly why material choice and careful shade work matter so much, and why we plan every case before we touch a tooth.
Honestly, this is where the skill lives. Building two symmetrical teeth from scratch is one thing; matching one new tooth to a natural neighbour right next to it is harder, because the eye instantly spots anything that doesn’t belong. That’s where the translucency of a good material — feldspathic porcelain especially — earns its keep, catching and scattering light the way a real tooth does. We plan the shape, proportion and shade carefully before we start, often with a preview of the final result, so there are no surprises. Not sure how many teeth you actually need to treat? Our guide on how many veneers you really need is a good place to start.
Come and have a chat
If you’ve got a peg lateral (or two) and you’ve been quietly wondering what could be done about it, the easiest thing is just to come in and talk it through. We’ll look at your teeth, tell you honestly what your options are, and give you a clear plan and a clear price — no pressure, no hard sell, just a conversation.
You’ll find us at 1 Forbes Street, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2, D02 FN53. Call us on 01 636 0192 or email hello@docklandsdental.ie, and we’ll get you booked in.
By Dr. Gregg Barry, Docklands Dental, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2.
Peg lateral incisors? You can book a cosmetic consultation online — thirty minutes with one of our dentists to look at your teeth and talk through the options and what they would cost (€80, as listed on our price list).
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to fix a peg lateral incisor?
The two main options are composite bonding and porcelain veneers. Composite bonding builds the tooth up with tooth-coloured resin in a single appointment with no removal of healthy tooth structure, at €450 per tooth for a full build-up. Porcelain veneers are thin custom-made ceramic shells that are more durable and lifelike, at €1,200 per tooth in feldspathic porcelain. A crown is rarely needed for a healthy peg tooth. The right choice depends on your age, budget and how long-lasting you want the result.
Do you need braces or Invisalign before fixing a peg lateral?
Not always, but sometimes. Because a peg lateral is narrow, the surrounding space is often uneven. If we simply bulk up the tooth, it can end up looking too wide. In those cases a short course of orthodontics, usually Invisalign over three to six months, redistributes the space evenly first, and then the tooth is built to an ideal width. Plenty of peg laterals can be corrected with no orthodontics at all — it depends on the spacing.
