Benefits of Cosmetic Dentistry
There’s a lot more to smiles than just beauty. Studies have shown that smiling kicks off the same feel-good process that exercise does. And it works the other way round, too. When the brain gets that good feeling, it in return tells us to smile, and the happy cycle repeats itself. However, this very pleasant loop can’t happen when we don’t smile because we don’t feel good about our smiles.
Cosmetic dentistry can go a long way towards providing the missing link in this pleasure train by helping you get a smile you will be proud to show to the rest of the world, and the confidence that will allow you to use it.
How Cosmetic Dentistry Procedures Work
How can cosmetic dentistry work this miracle? It can address the issues that have made you dislike your smile by rectifying many of its defects. It can help you deal with the gaps, the skew, chipped and misshapen teeth, and the ones that age, diet or genetics have discoloured. Even bad alignment is not as difficult or unsightly to fix as it once was.
New developments in the field have resulted in 3D printed teeth which makes replacement teeth a lot less time-consuming, and aligners that are secretly see-through. Whitening processes are quick and easy in the dentist’s chair, and shells and composites can help with reshaping teeth, and covering defects.
Aiming for a natural look
The aim of all these procedures is to create the most natural result possible. Cosmetic dentists put a great deal of effort and work into cosmetic dental procedures with one aim in mind – to create an effect that looks like nothing has been done at all. They now have easily accessible ways to do it, and can achieve results that wouldn’t even have been dreamed about a few decades ago.
Rebuilding your smile
If your dissatisfaction with your smile hinges on only one defect, like the discoloration of your teeth, or on one misshapen tooth, you may require only one cosmetic procedure. However, if you are looking for a more general smile make-over, the dentist will weave together a number of procedures based on an assessment of your appearance, your hair colour and skin tone, as well as your teeth and their proportions.
Other factors which may be included will be how much of your top teeth show when you smile, and any anomalies in your smile line, an imaginary line following the curve of your top teeth. Ideally, this line should match the curve of your bottom lip when you smile.
Cosmetic dentistry options
Tooth whitening is the most commonly requested procedure. A brighter and white smile can be achieved quickly in the dentist’s chair with a tooth whitening process. Further improvement to the colour can be accomplished by replacing old dark metal fillings with new light coloured ones.
If skewness, gaps or oddly shaped, cracked and chipped teeth are marring your smile, your dentist will advise you on how to deal with these defects. Subtle reshaping and contouring can be done using drills or lasers, but where bigger changes are necessary composite bonding or veneers might be the answer.
Composite bonding involves a coloured and shaped a composite material being attached to your tooth. Veneers, on the other hand, are tough shell like structures made from porcelain or composite resin. These are shaped to fit your teeth, and then attached to the front of the teeth. Both these procedures have the added benefit of whitening stained teeth resistant to the effects of the normal whitening process.
Where teeth are missing or broken, the dentist’s solution will be to attach a crown, if enough of the broken tooth remains to support this artificial cap. If the tooth is missing completely, an implant may be required. This involves embedding titanium “roots” in the jawbone to support an artificial tooth.
For smiles that reveal too much gun, minor surgery in the form of Gum Sculpting can even out the gums.
Misalignment can be corrected using an invisible plastic aligner or one of a selection of braces which vary from obvious wire constructions over the teeth, or those that clip on the back to coloured ceramic ones that match the teeth.
With all these options, it’s certain your dentist will be able to help you find that smile you’ve been waiting for so long. Let your dentist help you decide what’s right for you.