Cosmetic Dentistry: The Art of Beautiful Smiles

Cosmetic dentistry can give you the opportunity to correct problems with your teeth that have caused you to be self-conscious about your appearance. From staining to missing teeth, your cosmetic dentist can provide a solution that will restore your confidence in your smile.

What Can Cosmetic Dentistry Do?

Being self-conscious about your teeth can greatly affect your quality of life. If you’re afraid to smile, it’s hard to make good first impressions or even enjoy yourself at a party or any other social occasion. If you feel uncomfortable with the way your teeth look, talk to you dentist about cosmetic dentistry.

Cosmetic dentistry can correct a wide variety of issues with your smile—even things you might think require extensive orthodontic treatment or even problems you didn’t realize were fixable at all. Slight misalignment or small gaps between your teeth, for example, might not cause a problem with your bite, but might detract from your appearance. A smile that shows too much gum might be easy to modify with a simple treatment with veneers. Your cosmetic dentist can provide recommendations for the best approach for your individual goals.

Common Cosmetic Dentistry Procedures

Some of the most effective procedures in cosmetic dentistry are also the simplest and most common. Popular ways to dramatically improve the way your teeth look include:

• Teeth whitening. Whitening is a highly effective way to remove external stains caused by exposure to foods, beverages, and nicotine that can severely stain your teeth.
• Porcelain veneers. Veneers are highly versatile and can address a range of issues, including slight misalignment and minor gaps. They can also cover severe or intrinsic staining and can be used to make a gummy smile look more balanced.
• Invisalign. If misalignment is severe enough to cause malocclusion, Invisalign can be a good solution, correcting alignment without detracting from your appearance.
• Inlays or onlays. A tooth-colored resin is used to modify the shape of the tooth. This technique is useful for teeth that are disproportionately small or misshapen.

A talk with your dentist will help you decide which of these techniques—or which combination of techniques—will give you the smile you desire. Contact us today!