Dental Question: I keep seeing the sign cosmetic dentistry. Could you explain what this entails?
Answer: This is the process of improving ones smile and overall appearance through many enhancement techniques.
US News and World report stated that 75% of Americans felt an unattractive smile could hurt ones chances for a career success, and that only 50% of the American public are satisfied with their smile! A smile is the first thing noticed by others and unattractive teeth and smile will often be covered up with facial hair or by ones hand when smiling. People have even limited themselves in their careers and personal lives because of a bad looking smile. Aging also has a negative effect on the beautiful smile.
What happens as we age and how does it affect the teeth and smile? As we age, teeth naturally become yellow and wear down from use and trauma.
Another characteristic of aging is the sagging of the face from gravity and the loosening of the skin. This affects the amount of teeth that show when smiling. In the mid-30s the average female shows about 3 millimeters of front tooth when relaxing without smiling. Then by the time she reaches 60 she won’t show any front tooth when relaxed.
A good looking smile contains the following characteristics:
The teeth are white, not dark and of the same color
The teeth are evenly spaced and shaped the same on each side of the face.
The gum tissue that frame the teeth are pink and healthy, meaning they don’t bleed.
A full smile shows most the upper teeth and when looking head on you should see between 10-12 upper teeth.
The teeth are not chipped or worn down significantly
Fortunately there are more choices than ever to improve the look and feel of ones smile. There are a variety of cosmetic procedures that can be done to enhance ones appearance. They include but are not limited to the following options:
- Whitening using a safe and effective material that contacts your teeth making them 2-3 shades lighter. You can whiten your teeth by wearing a very thin rubber shell around your teeth during the day or night. After 2 weeks of this your teeth will usually show a big change in their color. Whitening or bleaching is the most popular and cost effective process to improve your smile.
- Re-contouring of the teeth can be a very effective way to make your teeth symmetrical and in one visit can make a huge difference it their appearance. This is done through minor changes in the shape of the front teeth without any numbing.
- Orthodontics. Braces move teeth to keep them aligned properly. This process is a safe and long lasting procedure. Even it takes more time to do this procedure, it can be well worth the time spent in braces.
- Veneers. Veneers are thin shells of porcelain that can lengthen, whiten and strengthen the teeth. By using these we can do instant orthodontics and significantly improve the smile in just 2 visits. Veneers are bonded to the teeth using materials similar to those that bond the heat tiles to the space shuttle.
- All porcelain crowns can be done so no black line appears around the gums. These are beautiful and look very natural because they allow light to be transmitted through the tooth.
- Tooth colored fillings: Plastic fillings are done instead of the black mercury fillings. These type of fillings not only look like your natural teeth, but they are very strong and durable. They also prevent the teeth from cracking like what happens to the black mercury fillings.
- All porcelain bridges to replace missing teeth. These can be done in a few positions in the mouth, but they are beautiful and look very natural.
At our office we take a series of digital photos during your examination to show you what we see in your mouth. This educates and keeps our patients well informed of their situation and allows us to discuss the possibilities.
The camera is just a tool that we use to discover the smile you have been looking for.