Cosmetic Dentistry is generally referred to as any dental work that results in improvement of the appearance of a person’s teeth, gums and/or smile. The primary objective in the case of a cosmetic dentist is improvement of appearance and not improvement of dental health. Many dentists refer to themselves as “cosmetic dentists” regardless of their specific education, specialty, training and experience in this field. This has been considered unethical with a predominant objective of marketing to patients. The American Dental Association does not recognize cosmetic dentistry as a formal specialty area of dentistry because of this conflicting cosmetic dentistry information.
Cosmetic dentistry may involve:
- Addition of a dental material to teeth or gums like crowns (caps), gum grafts etc
- Removal of tooth structure or gums
- Teeth whitening or bleaching.
- Straightening of teeth accompanied by improvement in appearance of face Orthodontics
Common Cosmetic Dentistry Services
- Whitening or “tooth bleaching”, is the most common cosmetic dental procedure. While many whitening options are now available, including over the counter products, dentist-supervised treatments still remains the recommended procedures for lightening discolored teeth. The primary reason could be that most of the dental insurance programs cover the cost of dentist visit and whitening.
- Tooth reshaping to improve the appearance of the tooth. It may be used to correct a small chip, or to alter the length, shape or position of teeth; it can be used to correct crooked or excessively long teeth.
- Bonding is a process by which an enamel-like dental composite material is applied to a tooth’s surface, sculpted into shape, hardened and then polished.
- Dental bridges or pontics are false teeth, which are fused between two porcelain crowns to fill in the area left by a missing tooth. The two crowns holding it in place that are attached onto your teeth on each side of the false tooth. This is known as a fixed bridge. This procedure is used to replace one or more missing teeth. Fixed bridges cannot be taken out of your mouth as you might do with removable partial dentures. Bridges can reduce your risk of gum disease, help correct some bite issues and even improve your speech.
- Using cosmetic dentistry porcelain veneers. Veneers are ultra-thin, custom-made porcelain laminates that are bonded directly to the teeth. They are usually preferred for closing gaps or disguising discolored teeth that do not respond well to whitening procedures.
- Using Gum lift. Gum lift is a cosmetic dental procedure to raise and sculpt the gum line. The procedure of cosmetic dentistry involves reshaping the tissue and/or underlying bones to create the appearance of longer or more symmetrical teeth.
- Bite Reclamation is a procedure usually used in patients who have had years of excessive wear to their teeth due to grinding or acid reflux. By opening up their bite, cosmetic dentists are able to help the patient reclaim their vertical dimension and sometimes even remove unwanted wrinkles as well. This gives a more youthful appearance and can often eliminate the need of plastic surgery.
In the past, cosmetic dentistry services involved dental fillings and other tooth restorations, which were usually made of gold, amalgam and other metals (based on the economic condition of the person getting dental implants). Now, dental work can be made entirely of porcelain or composite materials that more closely mimic the appearance of natural tooth structure. These tooth colored materials are bonded to the underlying tooth structure with resin adhesives. Many dentists offer such type of cosmetic dentistry service because almost all the patients now-a-days prefer natural looking teeth rather than teeth with gold or silver shines.
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