Evaluating Your Smile

Have you recently taken a close look at your face and smile? Do you like what you see? Would you appreciate a change? Would you like to see a whiter, straighter or more attractive smile? If so, now is the time to start discovering the wonders of cosmetic dentistry.

The following questions are designed to help you and your dentist identify elements of your smile that you do not like. They will help clarify what you would like to see at the completion of the treatment.

• When you look in the mirror, do you like the way your teeth look?
• What don’t you like?
• Do you dislike the color of any of your teeth?
• Are there spaces between your teeth? Have they been there long? Are they getting bigger?
• Do you have any chips or cracks on your teeth?
• Are you missing any teeth? For how long?
• Do you have any crooked teeth?
• Do you feel your teeth are too long? Too short?
• Are you pleased with the shapes and positions of your teeth?

Treatment Choices For A New Smile

Due to advances in materials and techniques during the past 25 years, cosmetic dentistry has made great gains. Today, there are many options for solving cosmetic dental problems. Because of these new procedures and materials, you can have more natural-looking and attractive teeth.

If you don’t like the shape of your teeth, their contours can be changed for a more pleasing appearance. If the color is too dark, you can try professional bleaching. Chips, cracks or fractures can be repaired with bonding, and veneers can cover a multitude of problems like gaps, stains, poor shape , or teeth that are out of alignment. Tooth-colored materials are used to repair decay, and sealants help protect the teeth.
Less visible and “invisible” braces may help make treatment possible for those individuals who have important cosmetic concerns. The braces may be placed on the back side of the teeth so they are not visible. In some cases, treatment may be done without using braces at all- by using a series of clear plastic removable mouthpiece-like aligners.

Because of these new procedures and materials, you can have more natural-looking and attractive teeth.

Options include:
Veneers– thin custom-made shells that are designed to cover the front side of teeth. Made of tooth-colored materials, veneers are used to treat spaces between teeth and teeth that are permanently stained, poorly shaped or slightly crooked. They may also cover teeth that are chipped or worn.

Tooth Whitening– also called bleaching- is a procedure that brightens teeth that are discolored, stained, or have been darkened because of injury. It can be performed on living teeth or teeth that have had root canal treatment.

Bonding– a cosmetic procedure that can improve the appearance of teeth that are chipped, broken, cracked, stained, or have spaces between them. With bonding, tooth-colored materials are attached, or bonded, to a tooth surface. The process can improve unsightly stains from coffee, tea, tobacco, or certain childhood medications; front-tooth spaces; and accident-induced cracks or chips. Bonding also is used to protect exposed tooth roots that result from gum recession and to fill small cavities. Bonding usually lasts from three to five years.

Enamel Shaping– a process of shaping, or contouring natural teeth to improve their overall appearance. When teeth are slightly crowded or uneven, or when eye teeth appear too long, enamel shaping may be used to correct the flaw.

These treatments and others can help you have more natural-looking and attractive teeth.

Which ones could help you feel confident about your smile? Discuss with your dentist not only the options most suitable for you, but also what your expectations are and the dental fees involved.

An attractive smile can be the most eye-catching feature of your face, and more beneficial than many people realize. It is a symbol of vitality, health, success, youth, and friendship. A smile is significant in your personal, business, and social contacts. So its important that you are happy with the appearance of your smile. If you are like many people, however, you may not be.

With dentistry’s many advances, you no longer have to settle for stained, chipped or misshapen teeth. You now have choices that can help you smile with confidence. Even the subtle changes in your smile can make a dramatic difference in the way you look and feel about yourself. Speak with your dentist about the options for improving your smile. There are many of them, and they can be used singly or in a combination, according to your needs.