A Complete Guide to Cosmetic Dentistry
Your teeth are one of your most important features. They leave lasting impressions on the people who you know and meet and whether you like it or not, some people may even judge you by the way your teeth look. For some reason, we don’t seem to give the same kind of care to our teeth as we do to our face. As a result some of us see our teeth decay, break, or get lost altogether. Thankfully, the world of dentistry has progressed over the years and no matter what you want to fix, there is a solution. Whether your teeth have been damaged, neglected, or you simply want to give your smile an upgrade, a cosmetic dentist can help!
Cosmetic dentistry is characterized by any dental work that improves the appearance of one’s teeth, gums, or bite. It focuses primarily on improving colour, position, shape, size, and alignment of teeth in order to improve the overall aesthetics of the smile.
Here are some common cosmetic dentistry procedures:
Whitening: Teeth whitening is the most common cosmetic dentistry procedure. Many products are now available over the counter but dentist-supervised treatments remain the recommended procedure. Teeth whitening can improve the colour of teeth by 2-6 shades. Some clinics may even offer laser whitening, a process in which a beam of light accelerates the process of bleaching.
Tooth reshaping: Tooth reshaping removes part of the enamel to improve the appearance of a tooth. It can be used to fix a small chip, alter length, shape or position teeth, and well as correct crooked or excessively long teeth.
Bonding: Dental bonding is a process, which applies an enamel-like composite material to a tooth’s surface before hardening it and shaping it to match the rest of the mouth.
Dental bridges: Dental bridges are false teeth. They are used to fill the gap left by missing teeth. They are fused between two porcelain crowns.
Veneers: Veneers are used to drastically improve the appearance of cracked or broken teeth, misshapen teeth, or teeth that are spaced poorly. Porcelain veneers can also be used to improve the colour of a smile. They are either made out of a composite resin material or porcelain.
Crowns: Crowns completely encircle a tooth, protecting it and improving the aesthetics of a smile. Crowns are generally made out of porcelain. They are used when a tooth is broken beyond repair from a veneer.
Dental implants: Dental implants replace missing teeth and usually consist of three parts. First, a titanium peg is placed in the bone to act as the root. Then, a device is placed to hold the crown or denture, which is going to be used to act as the tooth.
Smile Makeovers: Smile makeovers are a relatively new service. They fix all of your smile flaws by combining the use of many techniques including: crowns, veneers, and bridges.
Gum lift: Gum lifts fix “gummy smiles”, meaning they expose more natural tooth structure. Excessive gum can overshadow your teeth. Gum lifting is a process in which the gum tissue is reshaped to create the appearance of longer, more symmetrical teeth.