Do you wish you could obtain a bright and shining smile, one free of cosmetic blemishes? With cosmetic dentistry, our team can transform the appearance of your teeth, often in only one visit. In today’s blog, your Lake Orion, MI, dentist talks about cosmetic treatments, and how they offer enhancement for our smiles.
Your Initial Consultation
To get started, we will recommend a consultation so we can talk to you about your smile, and also carefully examine the teeth to identify the cause and severity of your cosmetic concerns. Our team then creates a personalized treatment plan to improve the overall beauty of your smile, often boosting health and function at the same time. With cosmetic dentistry, our team can help you obtain a stunning new smile. Now, what treatments could we recommend to help your smile’s esthetics?
Teeth Whitening In-Office and At-Home
Store-bought teeth whitening can offer results, but they’re often minor and don’t last very long. For long-lasting and dramatic teeth whitening, our team could recommend one of our professional teeth whitening treatments. The in-office option can provide stunning results in only one visit. We will apply a bleaching gel to the surfaces of the teeth and then activate it with a special light. This then breaks up and removes teeth stains in one to two hours.
To address more severe discoloration and limit the chances of tooth sensitivity, we can offer an at-home teeth whitening. To begin, we will create a custom-made set of plastic trays. We then send these home with you, along with a bleaching gel. You then fill the trays with gel and wear them for about an hour a day, over a period of one to two weeks, to brighten teeth by up to eight shades.
Dental Bonding
Dental bonding also repairs damage and corrects misshapen teeth, along with other esthetic concerns. We use the same composite resin that is employed with lifelike dental fillings, which contains no metal and is shaded to blend with tooth structure, offering a natural appearance. Applying it to the tooth takes only one visit, and we can use this to mask permanent teeth stains, close gaps between teeth, repair minor damage and reshape teeth, and even length worn down teeth in only one visit!
Dental Contouring
We also have a cosmetic treatment we can apply in the same visit as bonding: dental contouring. With this procedure, we actually remove structure from a tooth with sanding and buffing, which enables our team to correct minor chips, or smooth out grooves, rough patches, and pits in the surfaces. We can also reshape overly large or malformed teeth, and dull sharp, jagged, or pointed portions of tooth structure, again all in one sitting.
Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are thin cosmetic restorations that essentially offer a smile makeover in only two visits. To begin, our team numb your tooth and remove a thin layer of enamel. We then take detailed digital images that allow us to design and craft the finished product in a lab setting. We apply this to the front of the teeth with a bonding agent. Once in place, veneers cover the front and sides of the teeth, reshaping them, masking teeth stains, repairing damage, and closing gaps between teeth. Placement can also correct the appearance of minor misalignment, so your teeth appear straighter without the need for braces or aligners.
Gum Contouring
What about your gums? If you display too much gum tissue when you smile, this could make teeth appear small or misshapen, or uneven. However, with gum contouring, we use dental lasers to remove excess tissue and reshape the gum line to improve symmetry gently and comfortably. Treatment only takes one visit, and you can usually return to normal activities after a day of rest. Lasers mean no need or anesthesia or sutures, and little risk of swelling, bleeding, or infection.
Lifelike Fillings and Crowns
What if you have damage or decay too advanced to be addressed with veneers or bonding? If you require restorative dentistry, we can offer this with an esthetic approach too. Our fillings for cavities are lifelike, using the same material as our bonding treatments, and our crowns of course are crafted from materials that look natural too.
If you have any questions about cosmetic dentistry, then contact our team today to learn more.
Do You Have Questions About Cosmetic Dentistry
Contact Lake Orion Family Dentistry in Lake Orion, MI by calling 248-693-6213 to schedule your next appointment with our team and learn more about improving the overall beauty of your smile.
