Cosmetic Dentistry

Cosmetic dentistry is designed to repair problems with the teeth that relate to your appearance. It can range from things like crooked teeth to gaps between the teeth and even discolored teeth. While it‚’s aimed at improving the appearance of the teeth, which improves your overall appearance, dental cosmetic surgery, as well as more minor procedures also can help improve overall oral health.

Cosmetic Dentistry and Oral Health

When a tooth is lost or several teeth are missing, it‚’s natural to want to replace those teeth to maintain a good appearance, especially if one or more of the teeth are in front where the loss is noticeable. This can be achieved with dental implants , partial dentures or full dentures. Bridges can also replace missing teeth.

But these do more than just help maintain appearance; they can contribute to overall health by helping you prevent future dental problems. When teeth are lost, the other teeth may start to spread out because of the gap left by the tooth or teeth. This ability to shift and move can contribute to loose teeth and gum pocketing, which makes gingivitis more possible and opens up the possibility of more tooth loss.

The Importance of Appearance

While filling in missing teeth is an obvious reason for cosmetic dentistry, some people often consider other procedures optional and even not important. Tooth whitening , for instance, has no effect on oral health and is purely cosmetic. But if teeth are discolored or very yellowed, a person might feel self-conscious about smiling. Tooth whitening can make a person smile more often and feel better about his or her appearance. And while that might not be a health issue, it‚’s a wellness issue. Everyone deserves to feel comfortable with his or her smile!

When other problems are present and tooth whitening won‚’t fix a cosmetic problem, a porcelain veneer can be used to give the tooth a new surface. Dental bonding as well as veneers can be used to correct some cosmetic problems like slight crookedness and gaps, and dental caps or a crown can be used to correct similar problems.

Tooth reshaping is a possibility for some patients who feel that the line of their teeth and their bite is unattractive. Even those who feel like they have too much visible gum tissue when they smile can be helped with cosmetic surgery. Gum surgery is a form of cosmetic dentistry designed to scale back the visible gum tissue for a more pleasant smile and appearance.

Many adults today opt to get the braces they didn‚’t get as children to improve their smiles and self-esteem. Invisalign is a type of braces that are from a clear material instead of the typical metal braces, which makes them almost invisible for those who would be uncomfortable having noticeable, traditional braces.

Why Bother?

Most people will get a cavity or broken tooth repaired, but let cosmetic problems remain. If you‚’re not happy with your smile, you owe it to yourself to look into cosmetic dentistry so that you‚’ll feel more confident and smile more often.