Dentists not only help to maintain good oral health by advising proper hygiene and ensuring dental care but also help people to improve their smile. Therefore, besides ensuring proper functionality of your teeth that helps in biting and chewing food, you must also pay attention to dental aesthetics.
Healthy teeth alone might not be good enough to create a beautiful smile, which largely depends on the shape and size of teeth, color, and placement. Misaligned teeth can affect your smile, as it can happen if you have cracked teeth or too much space between the front teeth, making it look unsightly. If you have any of these problems, there is enough scope to improve your smile by addressing the underlying condition in consultation with a St Charles IL dentist.
This article should help you understand the various aspects of cosmetic dentistry.
Teeth whitening
Teeth staining is quite common as various foods and caffeinated drinks can discolor teeth over time. Moreover, smoking and consuming tobacco in any other form for a considerable time can stain your teeth. When the color of teeth changes into a dark shade, you can go for a teeth whitening process, which can remove the dark color and restore the bright, white teeth. The dramatic change should make you happy, and a dentist can complete the procedure at a dental clinic in under an hour. You can even carry out the process at home, but the result will take a couple of weeks to show up.
Tooth contouring
Tooth contouring is the procedure of reshaping a tooth by removing small amounts of enamel from the tooth surface. Since the enamel protects the tooth, and there is an adequate amount of enamel on each tooth, removing a very small amount is quite feasible without endangering the tooth. The dentist can decide how much enamel removal is safe to alter the tooth shape as desired by the patient.
Porcelain veneers
Porcelain veneers made from medical-grade ceramic are thin, strong shells that can stick to the tooth surface and create a cover to conceal many dental flaws. The dentist might recommend the use of porcelain veneers to change the tooth color and cover cracks and chips. The dentist will scrap the tooth surface to remove a thin layer of tooth enamel to allow the porcelain veneer to adhere strongly to aid in grinding and chewing effectively. The veneers usually last for about 10 years.
Dental bonding
Another way to cover up dental flaws like cracks, discoloration, and other blemishes is to use dental bonding, a composite resin with the same tooth color as your existing teeth. Dental bonding is available in various shades that allow dentists to match it with the color of your teeth. Dental bonding lasts 5-7 years and does not require tooth enamel removal, so the process is reversible.
Gum contouring
The procedure involves the removal of excess gum tissue while reshaping the gum line and improving your smile. The dentist ensures that your gums look symmetrical and more balanced.
A beautiful smile can make you more positive and better accepted among people and boost your confidence.
