When you smile at yourself in the mirror, are you unhappy with what you see?
Is your coffee drinking habit staining your teeth?
Are your teeth crooked or chipped?
If you find yourself hiding your teeth inside of your mouth when you laugh or talk out of embarrassment, or you aren’t loving the condition of your teeth, aesthetic dentistry may be for you. There are steps you can take to give you the grin you desire.
What Is Aesthetic Dentistry?
It improves their overall condition. Aesthetic dentistry is also sometimes referred to as Cosmetic dentistry but takes it one step further.
Cosmetic dentistry is making simple changes to the cosmetics of your teeth. For example, when someone has something made specifically for their mouth. You can generally tell with cosmetics if it is fake or real.
Aesthetic dentistry takes the cosmetic aspect and makes it more aesthetically pleasing. In other words, it takes fake appearing teeth and makes them look more natural and real.
If you’re going to have cosmetic dental work completed, you want to make sure it looks like it belongs, or it will stick out like a sore thumb and could even be worse than before. The goal is that no one would even notice you’ve had work done.
Aesthetic dentistry seeks to repair chipped or oddly shaped teeth without hurting their ability to function or damaging the bite. The main ways dentists do this is by veneers, dental bonding, teeth whitening, crowns, and implants.
The Type of Aesthetic Dental Work You Can Receive
There are many types of dental work you receive when it comes to aesthetics and cosmetic dentistry. Let’s take a look at the different options to choose from.
Veneers
Veneers are one of the most popular choices. They come in two types. The majority of veneers are out of porcelain and the other composite. Composite veneer procedures take less time to complete but don’t last as long.
When receiving a composite veneer, the composite resin forms to the shape of your teeth. Unfortunately, they are susceptible to chipping and may not appear as natural as porcelain. However, if budget is a concern, composite veneers are less expensive than porcelain.
Porcelain veneers are a longer process and more pricey. The procedure involves porcelain chips attached to the front of your teeth. It requires a couple of appointments.
When you go in for your first aesthetic dentistry appointment, they take impressions of your teeth in order to form your veneers. They place temporary veneers on your teeth while you’re waiting for the creation of the permanent ones.
At your next visit, they remove the temporary veneers and place the permanent ones on. These veneers can last over 10 years with proper care. This means making sure you’re brushing them and looking after them, just like you would with normal teeth.
Dental Bonding
Dental bonding is ideal if you only need one tooth done. It’s also appropriate if you have a misshapen or a chipped tooth.
The process of adhesive bonding involves attaching a piece to the tooth to fill in a gap, crown, etc. The first step involves making the surface of the tooth rough so the bonding agent can stick.
In the next step, the bonding adhesive applies followed by a resin that shapes to the tooth. The resin starts off like putty so it can form to the tooth. In order to make it solid, it must cure under a UV light.
This process of applying resin and curing it occurs until the tooth takes the desired shape. After this is complete, polishing the tooth takes place to match the rest of the teeth.
The cost for this procedure is not as pricey as porcelain veneers since you’re only looking at fixing a single tooth versus the whole front of your mouth.
Teeth Whitening
If there is nothing wrong with the shape of your teeth but just the color, teeth whitening is a good choice. Your teeth can become stained from a number of things. Smoking and drinking lots of coffee, tea and red wine are some of the primary causes. Getting your teeth whitened can be a confident booster.
The process of teeth whitening is simple and it’s a quick in and out of the dentist office. Aesthetic dentistry prides itself on this being a popular procedure.
Unlike many boxed options for teeth whitening, this procedure does not damage your tooth enamel or compromise the structure of your teeth.
This process takes place over several weeks or in one in-office visit. When it’s done at home, patients have a mouthguard that is full of whitening gel. They apply it to their teeth 30-60 minutes daily for about two weeks.
When it’s done at the dentist office, it’s a much quicker process. It’s a bit more expensive but can produce more even results. A dentist will also take a look at the stains and provide professional help if there are stubborn areas.
Crowns
Crowns are a good selection when it comes to aesthetic dentistry if you have an existing crown or filling, or need a new one. It takes an otherwise unnatural crown fitting and makes it look as natural as possible to fit in with your teeth.
If the damage to the teeth is extreme, a porcelain or gold tipped crown can be applied. This process typically takes two visits to the dentist office.
The first appointment will be for fitting the crown molding and taking the impression of the tooth. There is a temporary crown placed while the creation of the permanent one happens.
The second appointment will be for applying the permanent crown to the affected tooth. The crown is cemented in place so there is no need to replace in the future.
Flash Your Best Smile with Aesthetic Dentistry
Aesthetic dentistry has many options if you are unhappy with the way your teeth look. You no longer have to hide your smile, you can get it fixed however you want.
There are a variety of professional dentists out there whose main goal is to make your repairs to your teeth look as natural as possible. Choosing someone with proven success will make your journey of repair much smoother.
Choose a reputable aesthetic dentistry office now to get successful work done.