When it comes to your teeth, cosmetic appearances and good health go together. While there are a few cosmetic dental procedures that are strictly for looks, most cosmetic dentistry fixes problems that cause poor oral health. With new advances in dental technology and the multiple choices available, there has never been a better time to visit a cosmetic dentist and improve your smile and your oral health.
Cosmetic Dental Procedures
Cosmetic dental procedures can include anything that improves the look of your teeth and smile. Some of the most common procedures include:
• Bonding
• Porcelain Veneers
• Dental Crowns
• Braces or Invisalign
• Implants, dentures or bridges
• Teeth whitening
All but two of these, porcelain veneers and teeth whitening, have important oral health benefits. All cosmetic procedures have emotional health benefits because they boost self-esteem and can have a positive aspect on your personal and business interactions.
Replacing Missing Teeth
Even one lost tooth can undermine the integrity of your dentition (all of your teeth and their structure.) Lost teeth cause other teeth to gradually shift out of position. Crooked teeth are not only unsightly; they make it more difficult to chew and can cause jaw pain. Missing teeth can be replaced with dentures or partial dentures, bridges or dental implants.
Fixing Crooked Teeth
Braces are the tried and true method for bringing crooked teeth or misaligned bites into proper position. For many teenagers and adults, clear aligners like Invisalign provide teeth straightening without braces. When braces are necessary or recommended, today’s braces are generally smaller than braces of the past, and options for less visible braces include clear braces and lingual (back) braces.
Filling Gaps and Reshaping Teeth with Bonding
Dental or cosmetic bonding uses a composite resin to reshape the teeth. The results can be similar to the results of porcelain veneers, and sometimes the term composite veneers is used interchangeably with the term cosmetic bonding.
Dental Crowns
Teeth that are chipped or broken may require strengthening and restoration with dental crowns. Unlike a veneer, a crown goes around the entire tooth and restores its function in addition to making it more cosmetically appealing. Crowns can also be obtained for strictly cosmetic purposes; this is often referred to as having teeth “capped.”
Whitening and Porcelain Veneers
These two “cosmetic only” procedures can improve your smile, and they both be done as part of a smile design plan. Veneers cover the front of the teeth and can change the color, fill gaps, cover small cracks or lines and reshape the smile. They go on the front teeth that show when you smile, but they cannot be whitened with teeth whitening procedures. A teeth whitening can be done before the placement of veneers, with color matching of the veneers to the rest of the newly whitened teeth.
Other Cosmetic Procedures
Other cosmetic procedures include surgical procedures to fix a “gummy smile,” tooth colored or white fillings and full mouth reconstruction; a combination of procedures performed to achieve the goal of a complete healthy and beautiful smile.