Cosmetic Dentistry

Teeth Whitening

Your teeth will darken over time. Changes in the color of your teeth can be caused by such factors as the food and beverages consumed (like coffee, tea and soda). Other known factors for discoloration may include childhood medications or illnesses, tobacco use or improper oral hygiene. Restoring your natural white smile is a priority for our dental whitening team. We can provide a variety of options for whitening your smile.

Tooth whitening services are growing in popularity, and it’s one of the most requested services offered by our practice. Everyone sees the growing consumer market focused on whiter teeth. The reality is that over-the-counter, “too good to be true” solutions typically don’t work.

We are trained professionals using ADA approved techniques and products to bleach teeth. Our goal is to meet the needs of every patient, and every patient’s needs are different. One of the methods used by our practice is a gentle hydrogen-peroxide gel-activated solution. Our process will whiten your entire smile in either one in office bleach session or do it at home using bleaching  trays made for your mouth over 4-6 weeks. Call us today for a whitening evaluation.

Nothing improves your appearance more than a Bright, White SMILE!

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Veneers

Veneers are thin, semi-translucent “shells” typically attached to your front teeth. Veneers are customized from porcelain material and permanently bonded to your teeth. Veneers are a great alternative to otherwise painful dental procedures to improve the appearance of your smile.

Common problems that veneers are used for:

• Spaces between the teeth
• Broken or chipped teeth
• Unsightly, stained or discolored teeth
• Permanently stained or discolored teeth
• Crooked or misshapen teeth

Veneers are a great aesthetic solution to your smile that may even help you avoid orthodontic treatment. Subtle changes to your smile can be achieved with veneers, and in most cases, veneer application is completed in only two office visits.

Please contact our office if you have any further questions on veneers.

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Crowns

A crown is a permanent covering that fits over an original tooth that is either decayed, damaged or cracked. Crowns are made of a variety of different materials such as porcelain, gold, acrylic resin or a mix of these materials. Porcelain over gold has the apearance of a natural tooth and now  the porcelain material hardness is made to match the hardness of enamel, avoiding the harsh abrasiveness common with older porcelain crowns on opposing teeth.

The treatment plan for a patient receiving a crown involves:

• Numbing the tooth to remove the decay in or around it.
• Re-sculpturing the tooth to provide an ideal fit for the crown.
• Making an impression of your teeth in order to create a custom-made crown (usually takes one to two weeks).
• Making a temporary crown out of acrylic resin and fitting it onto the tooth during the interim period when the permanent custom-made crown is being created.
• Applying the permanent crown (when received from the lab) by removing the temporary crown and fitting the permanent one onto the tooth.
• After ensuring that the crown has the proper look and fit, the dentist cements it into place.
• This process generally consists of a minimum of 2-3 visits over a three to four week period.

Once the procedure is completed, proper dental hygiene, including daily brushing and flossing, is required to maintain healthy, bacteria-free teeth, gums and crowns. This helps in the prevention of gum disease. Given proper care, your crowns can last a lifetime.

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Bridges

A bridge is a dental device that fills a space that a tooth previously occupied. A bridge may be necessary to prevent:

• Shifting of the teeth that can lead to bite problems (occlusion) and/or jaw problems and resultant periodontal disease.

Bridges safeguard the integrity of existing teeth and help maintain a healthy, vibrant smile.

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Implants

Dental implants are artificial tooth replacements that were first developed half a century ago by a Swedish scientist named Per-Ingvar Branemark. Implants arose from the patient’s need to secure loose-fitting dentures. Since the advent of the implant, engineering and enhancements to the implant have enabled dentists to expand the implant’s usefulness, including the replacement of missing or lost teeth. Today, implant techniques provide a wide range of tooth replacement solutions including:

• Single Tooth Replacement
• Anterior Replacement
• Posterior Replacement
• Full Upper Replacement

Post Implant Care
Although proper oral hygiene is always recommended for maintaining good dental health, it is especially important when a patient has received a dental implant. Bacteria can attack sensitive areas in the mouth when teeth and gums are not properly cleaned, thus causing gums to swell and jaw bones to gradually recede. Recession of the jawbone will weaken implants and eventually make it necessary for the implant to be removed. Patients are advised to visit their dentists at least twice a year to ensure the health of their teeth and implants. Dental implants can last for decades when given proper care.

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Composite Bonding

Bonding is a common solution for:

• Fixing or repairing chipped or cracked teeth
• Reducing unsightly gaps or spaces between teeth
• Hiding discoloration or faded areas on the tooth’s surface

Often used to improve the appearance of your teeth and enhance your smile. As the name indicates, composite material, either a plastic or resin, is bonded to an existing tooth. Unlike veneers or crowns, composite bonding removes little, if any, of the original tooth.

Before and after cosmetic imaging makeover.

Composite bonding has many advantages:

• It is a quick process, which typically lasts less than one hour.
• It does not reduce the tooth’s original structure and is relatively inexpensive.
• Composite resins come in many different shades and provide better matching of shades to the natural color of your teeth.

Composite bonds, however, are not as durable and long-lasting as veneers and crowns and may need to be re-touched or replaced in the future.

Composite bonds stain more easily and therefore require proper care and regular cleaning. In order to ensure the longest possible duration of the bonding, composites should be brushed and flossed daily. Common staining elements include coffee, tea, tobacco, foods and candy. In addition, large fillings done with composite are unable to function and last in areas of high stress.

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Dentures

Periodontal disease, injury and tooth decay can all cause a loss of your natural teeth. However, we can bring back the smile on your face with dentures to restore your missing teeth. With improved technology and updated materials, dentists can now make them appear more natural and more comfortable for the patient.

There are two types of dentures: complete and partial. Complete dentures cover the patient’s entire jaw while partial dentures, with their metal framework, replace multiple missing teeth. Ask our doctors to see which type would be right for you.

It may take some time to adjust to your dentures. Speaking and eating may feel different at first, but these regular activities will resume normally once you are accustomed to your dentures.