Is Cosmetic Dentistry Right for You?

How to Improve Your Smile with Different Types of Cosmetic Dentistry Treatments

We all have things we’d like to change about our smiles, from discolouration to chipped or crooked teeth. But if your smile is making you feel self-conscious, cosmetic dentistry may be the perfect solution.

If you’d like to improve the look of your teeth, speak to your dentist about your cosmetic dentistry options, and read on to learn more about the benefits of various cosmetic dentistry treatments.

What Is Cosmetic Dentistry?

Cosmetic dentistry involves dental procedures that improve the appearance of teeth, and sometimes tooth function as well. Though not always necessary for the health of teeth, cosmetic dentistry can improve a person’s confidence in their smile, make it easier to clean their teeth, and even reduce teeth grinding.

Cosmetic dentistry includes changes to improve:

Tooth colour
Position of teeth
Shape and size of teeth
Jaw alignment
Gumline
The overall appearance of a smile

How Cosmetic Dentistry Can Help with Various Dental Concerns

Though cosmetic dentistry can help with many dental concerns, here are the most common concerns for patients seeking to improve the appearance of their smiles:

Tooth Discolouration

No matter how well people brush their teeth, stained and discoloured teeth are a fairly common dental concern. And since there are many causes of tooth discolouration, it’s almost impossible to avoid stained teeth.

Tooth discolouration can be caused by several factors, including:

Genetics
Ageing
Tobacco use
Food and drink
Medication

And since tooth discolouration is a fairly common dental concern, teeth whitening treatments are an extremely popular cosmetic treatment offered by most dentists.

Uneven Smile

There are various cosmetic dentistry treatments to improve the appearance of an uneven smile. Whether you have short, long, misshapen, or misaligned teeth, you have options to make your smile look even and beautiful—such as veneers, bonding, crowns, and Invisalign orthodontics.

Chipped Teeth

Cosmetic dentistry helps repair teeth that are chipped, cracked, or broken. There are various cosmetic dentistry treatments to restore damaged teeth, including bonding, veneers, and crowns, depending on the severity of the damage.

Confidence in Your Overall Smile

Addressing your dental concerns so you can have a beautiful smile will ultimately help boost your confidence. No longer will you feel self-conscious about the condition of your teeth and feel like you need to hide your smile.

So, if you dread meeting new people or talking to people, or you cover your mouth when you smile or laugh because you don’t like the look of your teeth, consider cosmetic dentistry treatments that will help improve your smile and confidence.

Types of Cosmetic Dentistry Treatments

Here are the top cosmetic dentistry treatments to address common dental concerns:

Veneers

Dental veneers are thin custom-made porcelain shells bonded to the front of teeth—either a single tooth or a group of teeth. Veneers are tooth coloured to match the appearance of your other teeth, and they are often used to improve the appearance of teeth by:

Covering surface flaws
Making teeth look whiter
Filling gaps
Changing the size and shape of teeth

Crowns

Crowns are artificial teeth that cap and repair chipped, cracked, or broken teeth, restoring them to their original shape, appearance, and function. Dental crowns are made of ceramic, resin, metal, or porcelain fused to metal. And they are custom-made to match the appearance of your teeth.

Along with improving the look of discoloured or misshapen teeth, crowns can also prevent a weak tooth from breaking and hold a cracked tooth together.

Composite Bonding

Composite bonding is an alternative to veneers for reshaping and repairing the appearance of teeth, especially short, decayed, uneven, misshaped, chipped, or cracked teeth. A soft, tooth-coloured composite material is built up on a tooth, hardened with a special UV light, and shaped with a file.

Teeth Whitening

Teeth whitening is the most common cosmetic dentistry treatment and is one of the easiest ways to improve the appearance of your smile. Teeth whitening helps remove stains and brighten the colour of teeth. Professional teeth whitening at your dentist’s office can brighten your teeth by up 10 shades whiter.

Invisalign

Invisalign is a type of orthodontic procedure used to straighten crooked and misaligned teeth. It is a preferred alternative to braces since the clear plastic aligners are invisible. Depending on individual dental needs, Invisalign aligners are typically worn for six months to two years.

Who Is A Suitable Candidate for Cosmetic Dentistry?

Cosmetic dentistry is suitable for anyone who wants to improve the appearance of their teeth and smile. From stained teeth to misaligned teeth, there are various treatments available to address your dental concerns.

So, if you are self-conscious about your teeth and try to hide them when you smile, talk to your dentist about the right cosmetic dentistry treatments for you and your teeth, so you can start smiling with confidence.