Your cosmetic dentist can do a wide range of procedures to enhance your smile, even if it is a slight change or major repair. Whether your teeth are chipped, deformed, discolored or missing, they can be treated with different options and techniques. Your dentist is capable of adjusting teeth length, closing spaces, reshaping your teeth and restoring short or worn teeth. Some common procedures are bleaching, bonding, contouring, crowns, reshaping and veneers.
Such improvements are not only cosmetic in nature. Most treatments can solve oral problems like your bite.
Bleaching
Beaching is a popular chemical procedure that whitens teeth. People get their teeth bleached to have a whiter shade and get rid of stains.
Discoloration, which takes place in the enamel, is usually caused by cigarettes, coffee, medication and tea. Discoloration can also be inherited or be due to aging.
Your dentist can carry out bleaching in the dental clinic or at home, with supervision. Majority of patients prefer bleaching to be done at home because of its convenience. Your dentist makes a custom mouthpiece to make sure that the right amount of whitening solution is applied and that teeth are correctly exposed. Usually, whitening done at home could take 2 to 4 weeks to get the desired shade. Whitening done at the dental office requires one or more visits that last from 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Bonding
This procedure is done to change the teeth color or fill in gaps by using a tooth-colored material. Bonding just requires a single visit to the office and lasts for many years. It is more prone to chipping or staining as compared to other types of restoration. Bonded composite resins are the best material to use if teeth are chipped or somewhat decayed. Bonding is used as filling to treat small cavities. In addition, it can close spaces in between teeth, or cover the tooth’s whole outer surface to alter its shape and color.
Crowns
Crowns, also referred to as caps, cover teeth to bring them back to their former look and shape. Since they cost more, they are often used in cases that are not solved by other procedures. Of all cosmetic restorations, crowns last for the longest time, but are also the most time-consuming.
Veneers
These are thin plastic or porcelain pieces that are placed over front teeth to change teeth color or shape. Veneers are used to treat teeth that are chipped, crooked, discolored, unusually shaped and unevenly spaced. They can be applied with some or no anesthesia. Veneers can treat the same tooth problems addressed by bonding.
This treatment is an option to the more expensive crowns. But first, your dentist should take your tooth impression. Before cementing the custom-made veneer straight to the tooth, your dentist will slightly buff the tooth to adjust the veneer’s extra thickness. The moment the cement is placed in between your tooth and the veneer, it is hardened with a light beam. Since porcelain veneers are fabricated in a laboratory, they require more than one visit. They have a longer life and are more stable color than bonding.
