While traditional dentistry focuses on oral hygiene and preventing, diagnosing, and treating oral disease, cosmetic dentistry focuses on improving the appearance of a person's teeth, mouth, and smile.
Beautify your smile and appearance with cosmetic dentistry.
Cosmetic dentistry may also provide restorative benefits. For example, dental fillings are a common procedure used to treat decayed teeth. Previously, most dental fillings were composed primarily of gold, amalgam, and other materials that left visible dark spots on the teeth. Today, dental fillings may fall into the category of cosmetic dentistry, because you can select fillings made of porcelain or composite materials that closely match the color of your teeth, thus maintaining the natural appearance of your teeth and smile. Many people have their older fillings replaced with newer, tooth-colored fillings to enhance their oral appearance.
Cosmetic Dentistry Trends
Technological advancements in cosmetic dentistry have made it possible for dentists to address a wide range of challenges. Two of the latest trends aimed at creating a more attractive appearance are smile makeovers and full mouth reconstruction.
Full mouth reconstruction may include treatment for functional problems with the bite, muscles, teeth, and bone structure as well as the use of additional cosmetic procedures. Full mouth reconstruction involves advanced restorative treatment designed to address severe wear of the teeth, pain, and other problems. Full mouth reconstruction frequently involves several dentists who focus on their specific areas of expertise in order to obtain the best outcome.
Common cosmetic dental treatment options include:
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Whitening, or "tooth bleaching", is the most commonly prescribed cosmetic dental procedure. While many whitening options are now available, dentist-supervised treatments remain the recommended procedures for lightening discolored teeth.
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Enamel shaping removes parts of the contouring enamel to improve the appearance of the tooth.[1] It may be used to correct a very small chip. The removed enamel is irreplaceable. It is also known as enameloplasty, odontoplasty, recontouring, reshaping, slenderizing, and stripping.
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Bonding is an option for chipped or cracked teeth. It is a process in which an enamel-like dental composite material is applied to a tooth's surface, sculpted into shape, hardened, and then polished.
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Veneers, ultra-thin, custom-made laminates that are bonded directly to the teeth, are an increasingly popular procedure. They are an option for closing gaps or disguising discolored teeth that did not respond well to whitening procedures.
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