A qualified and experienced dentist can use a variety of dental procedures that enable subtle-to-significant repair to improve your smile, bite, and quality of life. Dentists have several techniques at their disposal to address teeth that may be chipped, discolored, missing, or misshapen. Using the latest dental equipment, Pierce Aesthetics can close spaces, reshape your teeth, restore short or worn teeth, and change the length of your teeth.
Some of the most common and popular cosmetic dentistry techniques that make all of this possible include veneers, bonding, bleaching, reshaping, contouring, and crowns. The improvements in shape and color may not always be just cosmetic – many cosmetic treatments improve issues such as bite, amongst other benefits to your quality of life.
Bleaching (Whitening)
Bleaching is a trendy and accepted chemical process used to whiten teeth. It is utilized by people to get rid of stains or just to whiten their teeth a bit. Discoloration of the enamel is relatively common and is caused due to tea, coffee, food coloring, medication, cigarettes, age, and may also be hereditary.
The dental whitening procedure can be carried out at our clinic, Pierce Aesthetics, or even at home – under dental supervision. Many patients opt for bleaching at home as it is more convenient but may take longer to see similar results. Your dentist begins the treatment by first creating a personalized mouthpiece to make sure that the correct amount of whitening solution is utilized and that your teeth are appropriately exposed.
Usually, teeth whitening at home can take between two to four weeks – depending on the chosen desired shade. Teeth whitening in the dental office may need one or more 45-minute to one-hour dental visits.
Mavrik Dental: Teeth Whitening Machine
Pierce Aesthetics is happy to offer the exclusive Mavrik Dental: Teeth Whitening Machine as our go-to whitening system. An appropriately sized mouthpiece is inserted into your mouth which is then vacuum sealed to your teeth and a proprietary whitening solution is pumped through the mouthpiece which washes around, and between, your teeth giving you a more complete whitening than most other whitening systems that only whiten the front surface of your teeth. After a few cycles of the proprietary peroxide solution, and water rinses, the mouthpiece is removed and your smile will be brighter than when you started.
We have tested just about every whitening system on the market and have achieved the best results from the Mavrik Dental: Teeth Whitening Machine.
Bonding
Dentists use bonding, which is a tooth-colored substance, to change the color of teeth or fill in gaps. The procedure only needs a single visit to the dentist and the bonding can last for several years. Bonded composite resins are an appropriate material choice for chipped, or slightly decayed, teeth. Moreover, it can be utilized to cover the entire surface of a tooth, close spaces between teeth, and change even improve their shape. However, bonding is more vulnerable to chipping, or staining, compared to other restoration methods.
Crowns
Crowns, or caps, cover your tooth and restore it to its natural appearance and shape and can even be modified as an improvement over the original. Taking into account their cost, crowns are suggested only in those cases where other dental procedures may not be effective. While they can be among the most time-consuming procedures, crowns last the longest among all cosmetic restorations.
Veneers
One of Dr. Sean Pierce’s specialties; veneers, which are thin pieces of acrylic, ceramic, Zirconia, or porcelain, are placed over the front of your teeth to improve the shape and color of your teeth. Patients who suffer from teeth with uneven surfaces, discoloration, chips, unevenly spaced, oddly shaped, or crooked, can benefit from veneers.
Veneers are utilized to treat some of the same dental issues as bonding but have longer color stability and life expectancy than bonding. Compared to crowns, veneers are less far less expensive.
The procedure, which uses little or no anesthesia, begins with your dentist taking an impression of your tooth/teeth. First, Dr. Pierce lightly buffs the tooth to counterbalance the veneer’s added thickness, then a customized veneer is cemented onto the tooth. A curing light is then used to harden the cement present between the veneer and your tooth. Veneers require more than one dental visit as they are designed and manufactured in a high-end dental laboratory.
Contouring and Reshaping
Contouring and reshaping can correct chipped, crooked, overlapping, or irregularly shaped teeth in a single session. Tooth contouring and reshaping are routinely used to change the length, position, or shape of a dental patient’s teeth. It can also correct minor issues with bite, and bonding and tooth reshaping procedures are often used together.
The procedure is suitable for people with healthy and normal teeth and patients who want to create subtle changes in their smile. As part of the procedure, Pierce Aesthetics will take digital X-rays and 3D CT scan to examine the location and size of the pulp of every tooth to make sure that there’s sufficient bone between the teeth to give them support.
Which Procedure Suits Me Best?
Only a qualified and experienced dentist can determine the best technique that can address your dental problem and restore your teeth and smile. The desired result and the condition of your teeth also dictate the best procedure suitable for your treatment. But you are encouraged to ask your dentist a few basic questions before opting for a particular procedure, such as:
- How will my teeth look after the changes?
- What do I expect during the procedure and treatment?
- What kind of maintenance protocol will I have to follow?
What Kind of Dentist Should I Consider?
The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry recommends that you should ask your cosmetic dentist for the following documents before commencing the treatment. It will help satisfy you that the dentist is a capable professional in cosmetic dentistry.
Photographic Evidence: Before and after photos enable you to see for yourself how other patients fared after treatment and whether the results fit your requirements.
References: To get a sense of the quality and reputation of the dentist, ask for references.
Examine Record of Continuing Dental Education: It is vital that your dentist has kept themself updated in the latest dental techniques and the use of cutting-edge equipment by undergoing re-education courses in clinical cosmetic dentistry.
Now that you are reasonably well-informed about the basics of what to expect in cosmetic dentistry and how to choose a qualified dentist, it’s time to get in touch with your dentist. The dental clinic will answer all your questions and allay all doubts. Together with your dentist, you can formulate an affordable treatment plan and resolve your dental request.