Cosmetic Dentistry...The Fine Art of Dentistry
Today everyone wants a beautiful smile. When a person feels and looks good, they have a strong self image. People who feel good about themselves interact positively with family, friends and business contacts. A beautiful, confident smile plays a significant role in your self image.
Advances in modern dentistry make it easy to restore a life-like beauty to teeth that are stained, chipped, crooked, missing or separated by a wide space.
Now You Have A Choice.
Many adults dislike their crooked teeth and think that the only solution is lengthy orthodontic treatment with braces. Thanks to improved technology and materials, your dentist can now skillfully and quickly change those crowded, crooked and missing teeth into beautiful smiles. Cosmetic dentistry is no longer just for the front teeth. Those old silver fillings that have made your back teeth dark and unattractive can now be replaced with state-of-the-art materials that will make your teeth stronger, healthier and much more attractive.
Evaluating your Smile
Have you recently taken a close look at your face and smile? Do you like what you see? Would you appreciate a change? Would you like to see a whiter, straighter or more attractive smile? If so, now is the time to start discovering the wonders of cosmetic dentistry.
The following questions are designed to help you and your dentist identify elements of your smile that you do not like. They will help clarify what you would like to see at the completion of treatment.
- When you look in the mirror, do you like the way your teeth look?
- What don't you like?
- Do you dislike the color of any of your teeth?
- Are there spaces between your teeth? Have they been there long? Are they getting bigger?
- Do you have any chips or cracks on your teeth?
- Are you missing any teeth? For how long?
- Do you have any crooked teeth?
- Do you feel your teeth are too long? Too short?
- Are you pleased with the shapes and position of your teeth?
Treatment Choices for a New Smile
Due to advances in materials and techniques during the past 25 years, cosmetic dentistry has made great gains. Today, there are many options for solving cosmetic dental problems. Because of these new procedures and materials, you can have more natural-looking and attractive teeth.
If you don't like the shape of your teeth, their contours can be changed for a more pleasing appearance. If the color is too dark, you can try professional bleaching. Chips, cracks or fractures can be repaired with bonding, and veneers can cover a multitude of problems like gaps, stains, poor shape, or teeth that are out of alignment. Tooth-colored materials are used to repair decay, and sealants help protect the teeth.
Less visible and "invisible" braces may help make treatment possible for those individuals who have important cosmetic concerns. The braces may be placed on the back side of the teeth so they are not visible. In some cases, treatment may be done without using braces at all - by using a series of clear plastic removable mouthpiece-like aligners.
Because of these new procedures and materials, you can have more natural-looking and attractive teeth.
Options include:
Veneers – thin custom-made shells that are designed to cover the front side of teeth. Made of tooth-colored materials, veneers are used to treat spaces between teeth, and to treat teeth that are permanently stained, poorly shaped or slightly crooked. They may also cover teeth that are chipped or worn.
Tooth Whitening – also called bleaching – is a procedure that brightens teeth that are discolored, stained, or have been darkened because of injury. It can be performed on living teeth or teeth that have had root canal treatment.
Bonding – a cosmetic procedure that can improve the appearance of teeth that are chipped, broken, cracked, stained, or have spaces between them. With bonding, tooth-colored materials are attached, or bonded, to a tooth surface. The process can improve unsightly stains from coffee, tea, tobacco or certain childhood medications; front-tooth spaces; and accident-induced cracks or chips. Bonding also is used to protect exposed tooth roots that result from gum recession and to fill small cavities. Bonding usually lasts from three to five years.
Enamel Shaping – a process of shaping, or contouring natural teeth to improve their overall appearance. When teeth are slightly crowded or uneven, or when eye teeth appear too long, enamel shaping may be used to correct the flaw.
These treatments and others can help you have more natural looking and attractive teeth.
Success Stories:
Tooth Whitening Improves Your Smile
There are many causes of tooth discoloration: substances like coffee, cola, and smoking. Some medications and aging can also cause your teeth to stain over time.
Your dentist can determine the source of your discoloration then recommend the best whitening system for you. In most cases the results are striking!
Don't be misled by unproven and ineffective over-the-counter whitening solutions.
This office dispenses a simple, safe and effective tooth whitening system that is closely monitored by our clinical staff for maximum results in the least amount of time.
What Is The Tooth Whitening Process?
It is a simple procedure:
1. Impressions of your upper and lower teeth are made. From these impressions, your dentist makes custom fitting tooth whitening appliances.
2. You are fitted with the appliances, which are clear and very hard to detect at a distance. You will be given a professional whitening system and personalized instructions about how to use it.
3. To keep your teeth free from tartar and plaque, you and your dental professional will plan the proper homecare regimen in order to keep your smile looking good for a lifetime.
White Fillings
Before
After
There are many possible materials that can be used to repair damaged or decayed teeth, and the choice of which one is right for you requires careful consideration of your individual needs.
Today, more patients ask their dentists about white fillings because they want their teeth to look healthy when they laugh, talk and smile. White fillings, also called composite fillings, are made from tooth-colored materials that restore the natural appearance of a decayed or previously filled tooth. Because they blend well with tooth enamel and don't look like fillings, your dentist may recommend white fillings if the teeth to be restored are near the front of your mouth.
A composite filling usually requires only one visit during which the tooth is prepared and restored. An advantage of composite fillings compared to other dental restorations is that less of the healthy part of a tooth must be removed to hold a composite filling in place. This is due to the ability to adhesively bond composite materials to teeth.
The procedure for a composite filling may take a little longer because after the decay is removed, the tooth must be kept totally isolated from saliva. The dentist carefully applies an adhesive followed by several thin layers of the tooth-colored composite. Once the filling is in place, it is chemically hardened (cured) for less than a minute with a special light.
Composites are preferable for obvious cosmetic reasons, but if the decayed area is large or is subject to heavy chewing pressure, your dentist may recommend another type of material or restoration.
Other types of white fillings include composite inlays as well as porcelain inlays and onlays. Inlays and onlays are used to restore teeth that are badly damaged by decay or wear. They may be applied to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth when aesthetics are of concern.
First, the tooth is prepared by removing damaged tooth structure. The remaining tooth is shaped to receive the inlay or onlay. The dentist next makes an impression of the tooth, the opposing teeth and the bite. A model is prepared and from that model the inlay or onlay is custom made. At a subsequent visit, the inlay or onlay is checked for fit before the dentist cements it to the tooth. Inlays and onlays generally require two office visits.
You may experience some sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures in the newly filled tooth for a few days or up to a week. If the sensitivity continues beyond that time, contact your dentist.
Some white fillings may be more expensive than other dental materials, but most patients find these natural-looking restorations well worth the additional cost. White fillings, like other dental materials, may require periodic replacement. If the edge of the filling eventually pulls away from the tooth, bacteria can get between the filling and the enamel and may eventually cause decay. Tooth decay over time may develop elsewhere on the tooth. Regular dental checkups are important because they allow the dentist to detect a problem in the early stage.
