A beautiful smile is an important indicator that you care about your appearance. Today, more people than ever before turn to cosmetic dentistry to whiten, shape, close spaces between and replace teeth.

Cosmetic dentistry treatments include the following:

    • Teeth whitening. A relatively inexpensive way to brighten your smile, whitening teeth can be accomplished at home or in the dentist’s chair. Your dentist will apply a gel to your teeth and leave it on for about an hour. A heat or light source (sometimes a laser) may be used during the process to increase the bleaching action. Your dentist can also give you custom-made mouth trays made of thin, flexible plastic for you to fill with whitening gel and leave on your teeth for a certain time.
    • Composite bonding. A tooth-coloured composite resin that is attached to the teeth can improve the appearance and strength of chipped teeth.
    • Porcelain and composite veneers. Designed as a substitute for tooth enamel, veneers are hard, thin shells of tooth-coloured material that can mask a variety of dental imperfections.
    • Porcelain crowns. Heavily damaged teeth can be covered with natural-looking porcelain crowns (also known as “caps”). Like veneers, crowns are excellent for changing tooth colour and shape; in some cases, they can facilitate these changes more easily than veneers can.
    • Porcelain bridgework. A missing tooth can be replaced with porcelain bridgework that is attached to your natural teeth on either side of the space.
    • Dental implants. Usually made of titanium, an implant is used to replace the root portion of a missing tooth. The implant is fitted with a crown to create a natural-looking replacement for the entire tooth.
    • Inlays and onlays. Certain fillings can be made from porcelain or composite materials in a dental laboratory to more closely match the colour of a tooth. When applied to the inside of the tooth, they are referred to as “inlays”; when attached to the biting surface, they are known as “onlays” or “partial crowns”.
    • Tooth-coloured fillings. Gone are the days when a filling has to be obvious and unsightly. Tooth-coloured fillings are barely noticeable.
    • Clear orthodontic aligners. Clear aligners are an alternative to traditional braces. A sequence of individual clear, removable “trays” is used to gradually straighten teeth. Clear aligners are generally used only for adults instead of children.
    • Cosmetic gum surgery. Minor surgery can reshape gum tissue to give it a more levelled appearance.
    • Tooth contouring and reshaping. Cosmetic dentists can use a drill or laser to smooth or reshape teeth.

Before deciding to undergo any cosmetic procedure, it’s important to know the benefits and risks and what you can expect during the process. Make sure you’re clear about what it will cost, how much experience your dentist has with the procedure, and whether any special maintenance will be needed afterwards. The last thing you want to do is spend a huge amount of money on a result that you’re not happy with and that’s difficult or impossible to rectify.

 

Sources

www.1800dentist.com/dental-onlays/
www.deardoctor.com
www.dentalfearcentral.org
www.webmd.com