The ideal smile is bright and white, with teeth that are properly aligned, in good condition and proportional to each other. However, congenital issues, injuries, and oral diseases can interfere with a patient’s smile, making them dissatisfied with its appearance. Cosmetic dentistry can help.
Cosmetic dentistry may use a variety of interventions to address aesthetic flaws in the smile. This specialty can focus on a single concern or correct multiple problems at once and overhaul your smile. If you are dissatisfied with your smile’s appearance, explore all of the benefits that cosmetic dentistry has to offer!
Problems Addressed In Cosmetic Dentistry
Multiple aesthetic defects can affect your smile’s appearance, and cosmetic dentistry may remedy a number of these, including:
- Chipped teeth
- Cracked teeth
- Missing teeth
- Stained teeth
- Misaligned teeth
- Undersized teeth
Keep in mind that the materials and techniques used in interventions to treat these problems result in a lifelike appearance, so it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to detect a treated tooth from its biological neighbor.
At your initial consultation, Dr. Nathanson will ask you about your smile goals in addition to examining your smile. We encourage you to be an active participant in your treatment, which helps in the effort to achieve your treatment goals.
Treatment Approaches
Depending on the patient’s needs and goals, the dentist may incorporate a variety of interventions into the treatment plan, such as the following:
Teeth Whitening
Eliminates stains from the surfaces of teeth.
Veneers
Conceal flaws, like chips and cracks.
Restorations
Including dental crowns and dental bridges, to repair damaged tooth material or replace missing teeth.
Alignment treatments
May include orthodontic approaches like Invisalign or Six Month Smiles that reposition the teeth, or Snap On Smiles, which hide crooked teeth.
In framing your smile, your gums also play an important role in your smile’s appearance. As such, these tissues may also be targeted with cosmetic interventions, such as gum lifts to remove excess gum tissue or gum grafting to replace.
Combining Interventions For Smile Makeovers
Some patients may only need to address one or two aspects of their smile’s appearance, such as the shade of their teeth or a single cracked tooth. However, other patients may need more extensive treatment in order to significantly enhance their smiles.
In such cases, Dr. Nathanson can combine any of the cosmetic dentistry treatments described above, along with other interventions, to attain your ideal smile.
When multiple treatments will be used, the patient may need to be prepared for a longer treatment timeline that may include several appointments.
Additionally, the sequencing of treatments must be taken into consideration. For example, teeth whitening needs to happen prior to veneer placement because veneers do not respond to teeth whitening agents.
