Monthly Archives: April 2016

Popular Cosmetic Dental Treatments (And What They Can Be Used To Treat)

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The main goal of cosmetic dentistry is not just to restore and heal the patient’s, but also to give the teeth and the smile a perfect, shiny, and impeccable look. In many cases, tooth damage has both health and aesthetic implications, thus making some cosmetic dentistry procedures restorative as well.

Here are some of the most popular cosmetic dentistry treatments which can actually help with adverse oral conditions.

Teeth Whitening

This is a very fast and inexpensive procedure which doesn’t require much equipment, so it can be carried out in the patient’s home and lasts only several minutes. Note that not all whitening methods are good for your oral health. Some chemicals used in the process can be very aggressive and damage the tooth enamel. However, appropriate whitening techniques will help you remove or prevent dental caries.

Composite Tooth Bonding

These are a solution for chipped teeth. When a tooth is chipped the internal soft tissues forming the pulp may be exposed to the air, which is very harmful and speeds up tissue deterioration that leads to tooth loss. Having composite bonding placed on the damaged area will fix and prevent further issues.

Clear Aligners

Clear aligners are an orthodontic product which support the proper alignment of a patient’s teeth. In this sense “clear” means transparent and harder to spot, in contrast to traditional braces with visible metallic parts. Modern clear aligners are custom 3D printed and are next to invisible, so most people won’t be able to notice you’re wearing them. The subtlety of the treatment has made it very popular among teenagers and young adults.

Porcelain Veneers and Crowns

These treatments are attached to the surface of  damaged teeth. Whether it’s a veneer or a crown depends on the level of damage, or how bad the condition is. A crown is added straight to the pulp or dentin, while a veneer is basically just an additional coating which corrects health or aesthetic issues. Crowns are more serious, complex and made of thicker porcelain.

Dental Bridges

Dental bridges are a set of multiple bound crowns which are used to treat one or more missing teeth. Healthy teeth on the either side of the empty space are the base for bridgework. These healthy teeth are prepared by removing a part of enamel, so these become abutments to the bridgework. This is a cheaper, yet less effective alternative to dental implant surgeries.

Options for Missing Teeth: The Basics

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Losing a tooth or more might be a big blow for you, regarding both your looks and the health concerns which can arise from tooth loss. Luckily, modern dentistry is able to solve problems with lost teeth fully or partially using the following procedures and techniques. Many dentists offer a combination of techniques to fully transform a smile in a short period of time, so there’s not always a single ideal treatment for every patient.

Dentures

These are the oldest, fastest and usually the cheapest way of replacing missing teeth, but it’s also among the least effective. Dentures, or false teeth, can be fixed or removable. Modern dentures have good aesthetic look and are made of durable materials, but often lack the ability to support good oral health and don’t enable the patient to feel fully comfortable while wearing them. This is particularly true for removable dentures which aren’t bound to the jaws in a proper manner and are actually very limiting, having price and look as their only advantages.

Dental Bridges

Bridges are a good solution in the event that one or more teeth are missing. They require healthy natural teeth on the either side which can be used as abutments. Moderately priced, long-lasting and aesthetically good, the allow patients to retain full functionality of their teeth. Some disadvantages may include possible discomfort issues and they can cause headaches in some patients initially.

Dental Implants

They are the most effective, but also are usually the most expensive solution. This is the only option which fully recovers lost teeth in terms of the look, feel, health effects, quality of life and durability. It’s an outpatient surgical procedure which requires a certain recovery period that is needed to achieve osseointegration, the process in which the jawbone tightly and firmly bonds to the implant’s fixture.

Dental implants are made of titanium, meaning they are practically indestructible and certainly more resistant to environmental damage than natural teeth. If the surgery and recovery are successful, the patient won’t have a feeling that there’s an artificial tooth in their mouth.

All-on-4 Dental Implants

These are meant for edentulous people, those who are missing multiple teeth, if not all. This is one of the most advanced procedures in dentistry, but is very quick and convenient and is also an outpatient procedure, just like having a single tooth implant built in. The name of the treatment explains that an entire set of teeth missing in a jaw are replaced with artificial ones, supported by just four implants. This procedure saves resources and time for the dentists and the patient saves a lot of money and time as well.