Cosmetic Dentistry Procedures
The art of cosmetic dentistry has really come a long way in the last ten years. Cosmetic dentists can now transform an embarrassing, crooked row of discolored teeth into a gleaming, white, row of strong, straight chompers in a matter of days or weeks.
There are many different procedures that fall under the category of "cosmetic dentistry". Some of them are explained below...
Tooth whitening is one of the most common, quick, easy, and safest ways to improve your smile. While most supermarkets and drugstores sell home tooth whitening kits, these are not as strong or as effective as getting your teeth whitened professional at the dentist's office.
Porcelain veneers are thin shells of porcelain that are bonded to the front side of teeth that are chipped, discolored, or worn. They look extremely real and unless someone has a background in cosmetic dentistry no one will have any idea that your tooth has a veneer. With good care, porcelain veneers can last ten or more years.
Porcelain crowns are an alternative to crowning teeth that is being adopted more and more over other materials, such as gold and silver due to its more natural appearance. The strength of porcelain crowns is less than metal crowns, so some cosmetic dentists have started fusing porcelain crowns to metal crowns to create a hybrid that is both strong and aesthetically appealing to people who don't make a living rhyming on stage.
Dental bridges are a very popular option for people who have lost an adult tooth near the front of their mouth. This can be a very unflattering look, which dental bridges are able to hide with great success. A dental bridge is a false tooth fused between two porcelain crowns (see above) to fill in the area left by the missing tooth.
Dental implants are used for the same reasons as the other options above. It is basically a fake tooth that is attached to a metal post, which is drilled into your jaw bone. While they have the disadvantage of being a more involved and potentially painful procedure, tooth implants have the advantage of being more permanent than bridges, crowns and veneers, and do not have to rely on support from neighboring teeth, unlike dental bridges.
Cosmetic gum surgery is an option for those of us who are "getting a bit long in the tooth". In other words, we're getting old and all of those years of brushing have pushed our gumline down a bit too far. On the other hand, cosmetic gum surgery is also performed on patients who want a larger smile and wish to push the gums up to expose more of the tooth.
You can learn more about cosmetic dentistry at MedlinePlus, a service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.