Cosmetic Dentistry

Most popular treatments in cosmetic dentistry

Cosmetic dentistry includes dental procedures that focus on improving dental aesthetics and overall smile appearance. With the growing awareness among people to look better, there is an increase in demand for dental cosmetic services. Nowadays, people believe that having healthy teeth is not enough to have a perfect look. To feel and look good, it is important to have bright, white and flawless teeth. While regular dentistry focuses on dental health and oral hygiene, cosmetic dentistry emphasizes improving teeth appearance.

Modern dental techniques have significantly increased the options in cosmetic dental procedures. Earlier, the cosmetic dental practices were confined to only certain procedures, but the latest advancements in dentistry have paved way for many new safe and reliable techniques. Cosmetic dentistry offers several procedural options for treating discolored, crooked, chipped or missing teeth. The clinical treatments include procedures for removing stains, lightening teeth, reshaping and closing gaps, altering the teeth length, oral restoration through dental fillings, placing dental implants, veneers etc. More than simply improving the smile, these treatments provide the person with several restorative benefits. Based on the dental problem or cosmetic need, dentists recommend the proper procedure to restore patient’s natural appearance of teeth and smile.

Among several treatment options, the following are popular procedures in cosmetic dentistry.

Whitening
Many factors affect an individual’s natural teeth such as drinking tea or coffee, eating high pigment foods, medication, smoking cigarettes etc. Also, as people age the teeth color changes and often becomes darker or stained. The discoloration can be on the inner structure of the tooth caused by changes in enamel, exposure to high levels of fluoride or tetracycline, use of antibiotics as a child, trauma, internal bleeding and others or it can be external on the outer layer mainly caused by food and smoking habits.

While there are many over-the-counter products available for treating discoloration, in-office treatments by dentists are safe and effective. Frequent cleaning of teeth by dentists removes stains on outer enamel and restores natural color. Bleaching is another method to remove tough stains and transform teeth color into white. Before applying the bleaching agent, the dentist will cover the gums with a gum protecting substance. Then a whitening gel containing hydrogen peroxide is applied directly to the teeth and is activated by a light or laser. Bleaching can also be done at home under the professional guidance of a dentist. The dentist will first take the impressions of upper and lower teeth of the patient to create a custom mouthpiece to hold the teeth whitening product. The patient is required to fill the tray with the whitening product and wear it for several hours as suggested by the dentist. If the stains are deep in the enamel, the dental practitioner may recommend more effective alternative procedures like veneers and composite bonding.

Composite bonding
The treatment is recommended to restore a chipped, decayed, fractured or discolored tooth. In this procedure a composite resin matching with the tooth color is used as a bonding material to fill the gaps, bond chipped tooth or change the shape of teeth. The resin is placed on the tooth and is shaped properly to cover the flaws of the tooth. Then it is hardened using a UV light or laser and is polished properly to match with surrounding teeth. Composite bonding procedure is effective to fix minor tooth imperfections and improve the appearance.

Veneers
Veneers are better alternatives than composite bonding to restore the shape or change the color of teeth. In this procedure, a thin custom made covering made of porcelain or resin composite material is cemented to the front surface of the teeth and is properly shaped to suit the patient’s natural smile. The procedure may or may not need local anesthesia which will be decided by the dentist. Before cementing veneers, the dentist will follow some procedures to clean, etch and prepare the tooth for the bonding process. Once properly placed the dentist will apply a light beam or laser to activate the chemicals in the cement for effective bonding. When compared to a composite resin, porcelain veneer is stronger and requires fabrication before the actual treatment.