Cosmetic dentistry is dental therapy intended to enhance the look of your smile and teeth. A cosmetic dentist can straighten, whiten, or reshape your teeth. Chips can be fixed and lost teeth replaced.
Everybody will not benefit from every cosmetic dentistry treatment that is offered. Whichever approach will improve your smile the most can be determined with the assistance of your dentist.
The topic of cosmetic dentistry and the usually performed treatments to help people enhance the look of their teeth is covered in this article.
1. Teeth Whitening
Known by another name, “teeth bleaching,” whitening procedures can be completed at home using whitening solutions or at your dentist’s office.
Usually used in tooth whitening procedures include hydrogen and carbamide peroxide. Generally speaking, fewer of these chemicals are included in home whitening solutions.
The process of bleaching operates as follows:
In Office: Your dentist will paint whitening gel on your teeth. Additionally applicable are concentrated hydrogen peroxide solutions in water. Some dentists will speed up and enhance the bleaching process by using light as well. The process could take half an hour to an hour.
From home: A set period of days or weeks are spent applying whitening strips to the teeth. Every product has a different frequency of application and length of time to leave them on. Additionally available over-the-counter are whitening gels, which are applied with a specific tray or painted onto the teeth. Search for American Dental Association (ADA) certified whitening products.
Toothpaste: There is also tooth whitening toothpaste available; yet, these solutions have abrasive ingredients to help get rid of surface stains. Little amounts of peroxide are also present in some whitening toothpastes.
2. Dental Veneers
A porcelain or composite material veneer is a thin shell. Customized veneers are bonded to the front of the tooth. Treatments for dental problems including chipped, discolored, or slightly misaligned teeth include them. Even the gaps between teeth can be covered.
Though each veneer is different, most will last for 20 years or more.
Thin porcelain or a composite material based on resin makes up veneers. Every one has a little different process.
Veneers made of porcelain are fitted and put on in two different visits. First, your dentist will remove portion of the enamel off the front of your tooth to prevent the veneer from being unduly bulky. After that, they will take an imprint of your teeth and send it to a dental lab so that the veneers may be made specifically to suit the impression. Your dentist will clean your teeth at the following appointment and use dental cement to adhere the veneers to them.
Composite veneers based in resin: These veneers can be applied in a single visit. Usually, before implanting them, your dentist won’t need to remove much, if any enamel. Following cleaning and preparation, the dentist puts a composite material that is the same shade as your other teeth. Light-hardened and polished, the material resembles your other teeth.
During the process, you could receive a local anesthetic depending on your sensitivity and the size of the veneer.
3. Smile Makeover with Dental Implants
A dental implant is an implanted metal prosthesis used to restore a lost tooth permanently. Usually constructed of titanium, the implant is placed surgically into the jawbone in the area where the tooth was lost. A dental implant can anchor prosthetic teeth like a bridge or dentures and functions as the tooth root.
There are two categories of dental implants:
- Implants known as endosteal are inserted surgically into the jawbone.
- Implants known as subperiosteal are positioned above the jawbone beneath gum tissue. Most often, several teeth are replaced with them.
- Patients get anesthesia and a local anesthetic during the invasive dental implant installation operation.
4. Dental Crowns
Known by another name, caps, crowns are constructed to fit over your entire tooth. Usually, to resist biting pressure, they are constructed of porcelain or acrylic fused to metal.
Cosmetic dentistry can fix teeth with big fillings, fractured, chipped, badly decaying, or poorly formed crowns. Covering the gaps between teeth is another purpose for them.
A few distinct crown types exist, each with unique benefits and drawbacks:
Natural-looking, long-lasting, and stain-resistant are porcelain crowns. They also less often result in tooth sensitivity. Compared to other crown types, they are more prone to chip or shatter, nevertheless.
Metal crowns: Gold and other metal alloys make up metal crowns. These are perfect for replacing molars or for usage by those who grind their teeth because they are stronger than porcelain. The resist chipping and cracking. The look of metal crowns is one drawback; for some people, they might also trigger an allergic reaction.
Metal and porcelain are combined in porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. A coating of porcelain covers their metal basis. More natural-looking than metal crowns, they are more robust than porcelain crowns. They can, however, eventually leave a black line around the gum and appear less natural than porcelain teeth. They can aggravate tooth sensitivity, much as metal implants.
Most crown placements take two visits. The tooth is prepared at the first visit by removing an enamel layer. Most often, a local anesthetic will be used. To guarantee a good fit and to match the crown to the rest of your teeth, your dentist will next take an impression of your teeth.7
As your bespoke crown is being produced, you will wear a temporary one. Your dentist will use a strong glue to install the crown and make any required form and color changes during the second session.
5. Tooth Contouring
Cosmetic tooth contouring, sometimes referred to as “enamel shaping,” can be used to fix minor issues like chipping. Teeth that are somewhat overlapping can also be corrected.
Through filing or removal of partial enamel, the dentist reshapes the tooth. The dentist will polish a shaped tooth to remove any rough or uneven areas and give it a more natural look.8 Usually painless, this method yields results right away.
6. Dental Bonding
In bonding, tooth-colored materials are affixed (bonded) to the tooth. This treatment can be used to hide flaws like chips and cracks or whiten a tooth that has been heavily discolored.
With relatively little tooth preparation needed, bonding can be a quick and affordable method to fix small dental problems.
Your dentist will make up a composite resin that matches the color of your teeth during the bonding process. The tooth will next have the material applied to its surface and shaped until the flaw is concealed. The resin will be polished as well to give it a more organic look.