Cosmetic Solutions
Creating a beautiful smile is one of the greatest joys we have as dentist, and one of the main reasons we became dentist. This is why we have spent hundreds of hours traveling the country and learning from the best to deliver to you an amazing new smile. Veneers are what most think of when referring to cosmetic options. However, it is not the only solution. We will discuss veneers, and various options you have to change your smile.
Veneers are typically a porcelain substance that covers the front surface of the tooth. It is generally more conservative than full coverage crowns, though made of the same materials when we do smile make overs. We have a very specific work flow when we do smile make overs that make the results predictable, and spectacular.
First, we start with you. What are your wants and desires? We will obviously guide you based off our expertise, but your wants are our main focus. We will take several photographs and digital impressions of your teeth. From this information we will design the ideal smile, using your facial profile as a guide to deliver a custom smile, just for you.
When you arrive for your make over we will use this smile design and transfer it to your teeth. Meaning, when you leave the day of treatment you will have digitally designed temporaries that look like the final product. This gives you the opportunity to wear them home, look at them in the mirror, have loved ones give input, make sure they feel comfortable to your bite and speech. Once we are 100% happy with the temporaries we will duplicate that design into the final product.
We have been using this technique for well over a decade, and love that this gives us no chance for surprises at the finish line.
Cosmetic bonding refers to a procedure done in-office using filling material. Some situations lend itself to cosmetic bonding with fantastic results, though it’s situation dependent. We love closing small gaps (diastema) with bonding. The results are very conservative, reversible, quick, and relatively cheap when compared to veneers. We cannot change the color of the tooth well, or at all sometimes with bonding. Thus we are limited to what color the tooth already is. We are also limited to the space given, and rotations of the teeth being treated. Given the right conditions cosmetic bonding is an amazing option.
We offer two different types of whitening. One is our traditional whitening in which you wear a tray with whitening gel for 1 hour a day for 2 weeks. This option, along with continued intermittent use over time will yield excellent results for most cases. We also offer Kor deep bleaching. This whitening option is much more intense, with two in office whitening sessions and 2-4 weeks of over night home whitening. We reserve this type of whitening for more difficult cases such as tetracycline staining or genetic brown defects.
If you have short teeth, uneven, or gummy smile, in certain cases we can easily recontour the gums to make a drastic difference in the appearance of your teeth. This is not always possible depending on biologic factors, but when it’s possible it’s amazing.
For patients with recession or “long teeth”, we offer various types of gum grafting to give a more ideal smile.