Maybe it’s a professional bias, but have you ever noticed the teeth of characters in period dramas? The way the lead’s teeth shine in perpetual soft glow? Side characters may have broken and brown chompers, bu the leads maintain the pearliest of whites.
Of course, in actual history, the efficacy of cosmetic dental procedures didn’t afford anyone that level of oral health. It’s important to not let the fantasy creep into reality, too far. For the rest of us, getting a brighter, straighter smile is all a matter of choice and time.
Today, research shows that cosmetic dentistry will rise to $28 billion USD within 5 years. Most of this growth owes to availability of services and improvements in technology.
Read on to learn about cosmetic dental care near you.
Cosmetic Dental Procedures
One of the most vital benefits of modern dentistry is the multiple paths that have been pursued over time. We’ve developed techniques from all over the world to tackle problems from multiple angles.
Visiting an office that offers a wide range of services provides options to fit your needs and goals. This list explains the purpose of each technique now in use.
Inlays and Onlays
You’re familiar with this first technique if you’ve had any kind of filling. Dentists use a compound of materials made from composites, porcelain, or gold to fill in areas of a tooth.
Unlike a direct filling, which replaces a portion of the removed tooth, these indirect fillings strengthen and provide aesthetics. Chips, cracks, and dents in teeth become whole and look like natural tooth material.
The difference in the names comes from the location that gets filled. An inlay bonds inside the tooth. An only, then, fills something on the surface.
Dental Bonding
In the same vein as inlays/onlays, dental bonding both strengthen a tooth and provides a more pleasing appearance.
Your dentist applies a resin made from a putty-like substance around a tooth. They then hit the resin with an ultraviolet laster that bonds the material with the tooth. Once the material has hardened, the dentist trims and shapes the material.
this all-over coating repairs cracks, dents, and general misshapen bits. The overall coating reinforces the underling tooth matter and also protects from decay.
Implants
Implants are the strongest of all cosmetic dentistry techniques. An orthodontic surgeon places titanium rods into specially drilled holes directly in the jawbone. The holes take several months (up to six) to bond with the bone and become a part of the jaw.
From there, abutments attach to the top. The dentist molds a replacement tooth to attach to the abutment, which then gets screwed into place in the rod. The result is super strong.
The current materials used came to exist only in the last 30 years. You might find it surprising to learn that implants themselves rank among the oldest of dental care tricks. They date all the way back to the Egyptians using copper pegs in 1000 BCE.
When possible, a dentist shapes the replacement tooth from a mold of existing teeth before removal. Otherwise, they attempt to mirror a tooth from the other side of your mouth.
Whitening
Over time teeth lose some of their shine. Discoloration occurs when the enamel wears down or becomes stained by strong materials. Coffee and cigarettes top the list of things that affect teeth color.
Flouride itself, depending on concentrate used can leave teeth partially translucent or browning.
The whitening process combines several chemical techniques to remove stains and replace missing pigment with a truer white color. The techniques used in the dentist’s office provide more bunch than their at-home counterparts.
Crowns
You’ll recognize crowns as one of the more old-school techniques for shoring up damaged teeth. Depending on your age, or familiarity with dentistry, you may know them as caps.
Like dental bonding, crowns go over a tooth to protect it from damage and make a seamless, natural replacement.
Caps and crowns come in a variety of materials with different aesthetics and wear resistance. The materials such as metals, porcelain, resin, and ceramics range in price as well.
The biggest downside of a crown in comparison to bonding is reliability. Crowns provide more overall strength, but it is possible to dislodge them with enough shock.
Bite Analysis and Shaping
An important aspect of cosmetic dentistry is restoring balance to a mouth.
When you lose some teeth, or some teeth wear unevenly, your bite becomes uneven. A bite with enough asymmetry starts to cause damage.
Bite analysis gives a dentist the necessary information to remedy these issues. Once an analysis is done, recommendations can be made to correct issues. Many of the other techniques mentioned already are then employed to correct the issue.
Veneers
Sometimes teeth don’t need help being stronger, sometimes you just want them to look different. Veneers provide a large change to your look while not affecting your teeth at all.
As the name suggests, veneers cover your existing teeth with a thin custom shell. This shell gives you a whiter, more even smile.
Veneers don’t typically affect bite or chewing unless they enhance too much. Dentists shape veneers to order and the shape, size, and length range to taste. If the veneer stretches beyond the base of teeth, it becomes difficult for the veneer to maintain shape.
Gum Tissue Resculpting
This much more modern technique uses a diode laser to transform the gum line.
Gum resculpting removes safe amounts of the gum from around the base of the tooth. Even before a tooth hits your jaw (which makes up half the length of a tooth) there is additional tooth nestled inside.
With resculpting, the dentist aims to make the gum line even across the teeth. For people who feel they show too much gum when smiling, this evens out the ratio of gum to tooth.
Refine Your Look
Cosmetic dental procedures provide a lot of options to enhance your look and your health. Get started on a new, better you with a consultation to go over problem areas and create a rejuvenation plan.
Contact us today to learn how quickly and easily you can transform your smile.
