Transform Your Smile: The Ultimate Guide to Cosmetic Dentistry

Cosmetic dentistry focuses on enhancing a dental patient's smile, especially those who might have discolored, chipped, worn, stained, misshapen, broken, or misaligned teeth. Most cosmetic dental procedures are non-essential, but dental patients will express interest in them because of the extensive benefits to be gained, like making routine cleanings a simpler task, reducing teeth grinding, and increasing self-confidence.

Who is a candidate for cosmetic dentistry?

Dental patients with any sort of tooth imperfection can consider cosmetic dentistry as a resolution to their oral health issues. Also, in most cases, a dental patient can get their receding gums or gaps corrected with the aid of cosmetic treatments. Before you commit to undergoing any cosmetic dental procedure, establish proper expectations and consider what type of risks and rewards come with the process. You may speak with one of our dentists at Surfside Dental and develop a treatment plan that is ideal for your particular dental concern.

Cosmetic treatments available

Teeth whitening

Although it is natural for teeth to become stained or discolored with time, the process is quickened after smoking, consuming foods and beverages that create stains (coffee, tea etc.), or taking various medications. Our dentists can bleach your teeth with a chemical process that can be applied immediately in the office or given to you to use at home. A custom mouthpiece tray can be created for you, ensuring that a proper amount of whitening solution reaches your teeth. The home solution could take up to four weeks, perhaps more, depending on the peroxide strength, whereas an in-office treatment can be completed in one or more visits to the dentist. Following your whitening, remember that your teeth will again become stained if you continue to consume those same substances that initially discolored them. Whitening products are not intended to clean the teeth, so keep on brushing twice per day, flossing daily, and rinsing with an antiseptic mouthwash on a daily basis.

Dental bonding

Bonding can help your teeth if they have excess space between them, or if they have become stained, chipped, cracked, or broken. Our dentists can also utilize bonding materials in order to fill small cavities or to protect the exposed root of a tooth. Usually, this procedure can be completed in one office visit because it only consists of the application of an etching solution, followed by tooth-colored materials, directly onto the tooth's surface where necessary. Bonding can remain in effect for a few years, but it is more likely than other restoration methods to eventually become stained or worn down.

Veneers

Generally made of porcelain material, these custom shells cover the front sides of the teeth to alter their color, shape, or both. Offering a lengthier lasting effect and superior appearance to what bonding provides, veneers can improve teeth that have spaces between them, are permanently stained, chipped or worn, misshaped, or slightly crooked. Prior to inserting the veneers, one of our dentists will first take an impression of your tooth, buff the tooth, and secure the veneer in its place. With a beam of light, they will then harden the cement of the veneer, securing it to your tooth.

Crowns

Crowns are meant to fully cover a tooth, restoring its natural shape and appearance. You can receive a crown to cover a misshapen or discolored tooth, protect a vulnerable tooth, restore a broken or worn tooth, cover a tooth with a sizeable filling, hold a dental bridge in place, cover a dental implant, or cover a tooth that has undergone a root canal procedure. Made from metal, porcelain fused to metal, ceramic materials, or resin, crowns represent a more costly cosmetic treatment, which is why our dentists will only suggest them when other options prove ineffective.

Laser dentistry

This method incorporates the usage of lasers and is capable of treating numerous dental conditions in a more comfortable manner. Hypersensitivity, tooth decay, gum disease, and tooth discoloration can all be fixed with laser dentistry. Whether it is for hard tissue procedures (specifically for the teeth) or soft tissue treatments (referring to the gums), laser dentistry is a trustworthy option. A laser instrument creates light energy in a highly concentrated beam, producing a reaction when it reaches the tissue, and removes or shapes the tissue.

Bridge

Bridges, at times referred to as partial dentures, replace missing teeth with artificial teeth. Bridges are made of gold, alloy, porcelain, or a certain combination, which one of our dentists will anchor onto surrounding teeth once the teeth are adequately prepared for crowns. A false tooth joins the crown, cementing the bridge onto the prepared teeth, and only a dentist can remove the bridge. Your oral foundation will determine if a dental bridge can be helpful, which is why you must follow good oral hygiene practices for healthy teeth.

Implants

One of the more impressive cosmetic dentistry procedures, dental implants are a long-term means of replacing missing teeth. Implants come in three parts: titanium metal, a material that fuses to the jawbone; an abutment that fits over the part of the implant which protrudes from the gums; and the crown, something a special restorative dentist creates for a natural appearance that resembles a genuine tooth. One implant can replace a single tooth and a series of implants can give you the stable support needed to replace multiple teeth. Numerous steps are involved in an implant procedure, including: a thorough examination, consultation, and X-rays; surgical implantation of the titanium screws; impressions of the upper and lower jaws; the creation of a model that will serve as the basis for the dentures or crowns; placement of the crown; and follow-up appointments with members of our implant team.

You can find more information by scheduling a consultation with the dental group at Surfside Dental, located in Fort Myers and Cape Coral in Florida. We can discuss how to best improve your smile and guarantee that it remains healthy for the foreseeable future.

Rediscover the confidence in your smile