May 9, 2024 | Blog, Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Topics 3
Tetracycline is an antibiotic used to treat infection. While it works to fight certain illnesses, it can have a negative impact on your smile. If tetracycline is taken by pregnant women or by children while their teeth are still forming, the teeth will develop with dark stains. Usually, this medication produces brown or grayish discolorations that may cover all or part of the teeth.
People with tetracycline stains may feel self-conscious about their smiles. Your dentist can evaluate your case and discuss options for creating a gorgeous, new image. Treatments such as teeth whitening or porcelain veneers can remove stains and restore your smile.
In the past, teeth whitening was not a very effective therapy for tetracycline stains on teeth. Because the stains are intrinsic, which means they occur within the tooth, whitening didn’t always produce results. However, repeated chair side laser whitening sessions and deep bleaching products have worked in cases where the staining was not particularly dark.
The most common treatment with tetracycline stains is porcelain veneers. Made from thin shells of dental porcelain, veneers cover your teeth and produce a bright, white smile. Porcelain veneers are durable, stain-resistant, and designed to create naturally looking restorations.
With veneers, your doctor will first take impressions of your teeth to be sent to the dental lab that will handcraft your custom restorations. The dentist will then prepare the teeth for placement. Often, the dentist will place temporary veneers, which will give you a chance to preview your new look. Once the lab sends your permanent veneers to the office, you will need to return for minor adjustments and final placement.
Do you live in Bingham Farms or the surrounding area? Our team is ready to help you achieve your smile goals. Schedule your appointment today.
Apr 4, 2024 | Blog, Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Topics 3
Dentists today are no longer focused only on looking for tooth decay and correcting oral health issues. Cosmetic dentistry also offers smile makeovers, which is the process of using various procedures and treatments to create a brand new smile.
There are many things that go into an appealing smile. Ideally, your bite should fit together properly, teeth should be straight and white, gums should correspond with your teeth well, and more. When one or more of these factors isn’t there, your smile may not the one you’ve dreamed of having. A smile makeover can take care of all that.
Teeth whitening
Teeth that are yellowed and dingy can make an otherwise nice smile look uncared for and unhealthy. Transforming stained dull teeth into shiny pearly whites can make a huge impact. Professional teeth whitening is a simple and effective way to boost your smile in just an hour.
Reshaping teeth
If your issue involves the shape or size of your teeth, bonding or porcelain veneers can come to the rescue. Teeth that have been worn down from years of use or bad habits can be restored, or the edges of teeth that aren’t uniform can be corrected. Bonding may be done in a short time in one dental visit, and veneers takes a few weeks but can dramatically change your smile.
Gum contouring
Your gums might be too high or too low on your teeth, creating an appearance of teeth that are too large or small. Gum contouring restructures your gums so that they fall in a more appealing place along your teeth, forming a nice line in a better location.
Misalignment
A great smile begins with a proper bite, so making sure your teeth fit together correctly when your mouth is closed is an important element of a smile makeover. If your bite or your teeth need to be realigned, you might choose Invisalign clear aligners. This innovative system provides an alternative to traditional braces and allows correction without cumbersome or embarrassing metal in your mouth.
Do you live in Bingham Farms or the surrounding area? Our team is ready to help you achieve your smile goals. Schedule your appointment today.
Mar 7, 2024 | Blog, Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Topics 3
Not everyone has the advantage of a perfect smile. A smile makeover can help you transform your look into what you’d like it to be, and it doesn’t have to take a long time. You can walk away from just one appointment with a better smile. Here are some of the fast treatments using non-invasive techniques that are available.
Whitening teeth
If you’re considering making over your smile, one of the quickest and simplest places to start is teeth whitening. In as little as one hour in a professional setting, you can transform your look by brightening your smile more effectively than trying it at home. Whitening products sold for home use are not as strong as professional methods, so it takes a longer period of consistent use to brighten your teeth only a shade or two. Professional whitening uses stronger concentrations of bleaching agents and a special light to hasten the process, and achieves dramatic results.
Removing white spots
Unsightly white spots that you might see on your teeth are signs of demineralization under your tooth enamel. A smile makeover can include using resin infiltration, which is a non-invasive procedure that can effectively treat white spots. You can say goodbye to the spots in as little as thirty minutes of treatment time. Teeth whitening is not advised, as it can make white spots even more noticeable.
Reshaping teeth
Minor flaws like chipped, cracked, or misshapen teeth can be corrected with contouring. Small areas of your teeth can be shaved or tooth-colored resin can be applied to alter the length or shape of teeth. Tooth contouring can take as little as a half hour, and is great for those with healthy teeth that just need slight alterations for appearance purposes.
Repairing chips or gaps
Dental bonding is a simple procedure that hides gaps, chips, stains, or spacing problems. Tooth-colored resin is sculpted onto the tooth to provide a more appealing smile in only about an hour.
Do you live in Bingham Farms or the surrounding area? Our team is ready to help you achieve your smile goals. Schedule your appointment today.
Feb 22, 2024 | Blog, Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Topics 3
A gorgeous, white smile conveys confidence and vitality. Age, certain foods, dark beverages, and even medication can dull your teeth. In recent years, teeth whitening has become one of the most popular cosmetic dental procedures. Safe and effective, professional teeth whitening can revitalize your smile. If you are considering brightening your pearly whites, several options are available, including:
In-Office Whitening – Imagine visiting the dentist at lunch time and leaving with a sensational smile. With in-office whitening, you can erase stains and lighten teeth up to 10 shades in about an hour. The down sides to the in-office method are the cost, more than other options, and the lack of control over results. Because the dentist will combine bleaching gel with a special light, you can’t really select a desired shade and get that exact color. However, your bright, white smile will dazzle family and friends.
Take-Home Kits – Some people want to whiten their teeth at home and on their own time tables. Take-home kits allow you to do just that. First, your dentist will take impressions of your teeth and send them to a dental lab to create custom trays. Simply place a thin layer of the professional bleaching solution to the trays and wear them as directed until you achieve the desired level of brightness. Often, patients notice a difference right away, but the full impact will appear after whitening ends, usually in two to three weeks.
Over-the-Counter Whitening Options – Available in the form of strips and trays, over-the-counter whitening kits cost about $20 to $50. Although these options will save you money, many of the drug store whitening products won’t produce noticeable results. As well, these kits may irritate your gums and soft tissue because they are not specially designed to fit your mouth. For a safe, effective white smile, you should schedule a visit to your dentist for professional whitening.
Are you looking for a new dentist in Bingham Farms? Contact us today to schedule an appointment.
Jan 25, 2024 | Blog, Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Topics 3
There are many things you can do that will improve your look, such as a new hairstyle or diet. But have you thought about the dramatic effects changing your smile might have on your appearance? Cosmetic dentistry was established to make you more beautiful and confident with a winning smile.
Cosmetic dentists offer a wide variety of ways to alter your smile that can affect your whole appearance. It’s amazing what straight, white, fully restored teeth can do for a person. Here are some popular treatments offered through cosmetic dentistry.
Teeth whitening
Things like aging, eating dark foods, and smoking contribute to a dingy smile. Cosmetic dentists can brighten your smile right away using professional whitening techniques. Often in just an hour, you can have a brilliant smile to wow all your friends.
Dental veneers
Thin porcelain shells may be securely adhered to the front surfaces of your teeth. Cracks, misalignments, discolorations, chips and misshapen teeth will all disappear under your dental veneers. They are customized just for you, even down to the exact shade of white you desire, so that you end up with the smile you’ve always wanted.
Bonding
Cosmetic dentists can repair many minor teeth issues with dental bonding. Composite resin material is typically used to fill in chips, spaces, stains, cracks and fractures. Bonding lasts for years with proper oral hygiene.
Crowns
To restore your tooth appearance and function, a crown is placed over a damaged tooth. It may be a tooth that is worn down, discolored, weak or otherwise compromised. Also, crowns are used as part of the process with dental implants, bridges or root canals. These restorations are made from materials like porcelain, ceramic, or resin.
Bridges
Used to replace missing teeth, bridges are also called fixed partial dentures. These are usually made from gold, alloys, or a combination of these materials.
Braces
In addition to orthodontists, many cosmetic dentists can provide braces to straighten your teeth, repair an irregular bite, or reposition your jaw. Options include metals, ceramic, or plastic and some choices are even invisible in your smile.
Are dental issues holding you back? Take control of your oral health by booking an appointment with our experienced team at our Bingham Farms dental office.
Dec 7, 2023 | Blog, Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Topics 3
Most people have things about their smiles they’d like to fix. Maybe the things are minor or perhaps they are major, but most of them can be addressed with some form of cosmetic dentistry. You may have been unhappy for a while with the smile you see in the mirror, but just haven’t felt the necessary impetus to schedule an appointment with a cosmetic dentist.
To get that jump start toward your dental treatment, look ahead in your life. Maybe you have a class reunion coming up, or maybe a friend’s wedding. Perhaps there’s a job interview, first date or anniversary approaching. These special occasions are all excellent reasons to turn to cosmetic dentistry treatments. Here are some of the most common procedures that could be used to transform your smile.
- Teeth whitening – perhaps the most popular and common cosmetic dentistry procedure, it utilizes light-activated bleaching chemicals that can lighten natural teeth and remove stains and discoloration.
- Dental veneers – very thin, wafer-shaped shells crafted out of porcelain or another material that are bonded onto the natural surface of the tooth. Sometimes a thin layer of the natural tooth enamel must be removed in order to accommodate the application of the veneer.
- Dental bonding – composite resin mixed to match the color of your tooth and then molded by hand onto the tooth’s surface to create the illusion of a complete natural tooth.
- Dental crowns – restorative dental therapy that protects and preserves a natural tooth that has had a root canal treatment.
- Enameloplasty – the correction of malformations of a natural tooth through hand-shaping. This is also the name for the removal of the tooth’s surface required for most types of dental veneers.
All of these cosmetic treatments will transform your smile for that special occasion. Get the bright, straight, white smile you want people to remember with the help of a little cosmetic dentistry.
Are dental issues holding you back? Take control of your oral health by booking an appointment with our experienced team at our Bingham Farms dental office.
