A good dentist doesn’t just help patients ensure their smiles are healthy. They also offer cosmetic dentistry services that give patients the care needed to smile with confidence. Whether you have teeth that are missing, discoloured, broken or crooked, cosmetic dentistry offers many solutions for those who want to improve their oral health as well as their appearance. Nothing improves your confidence and says you’re healthy than a bright, beautiful smile.
Here are a few cosmetic dentistry services that help you achieve a beautiful smile:
Consider: Tooth Replacements
If You Have: Missing Teeth
When you have tooth loss due to gum disease or an injury, you likely feel that it’s difficult to fully smile. With a tooth replacement, such as dental implants, you can fill in gaps or missing teeth. There are a variety of tooth replacement options– from implants to dentures– that provide long-lasting or permanent solutions to correct an imperfect smile:
- Dental implants: Serve as a permanent base for replacement teeth as dentists use them to replace your own tooth and bond it to your jawbone. Implants are often the best choice for patients who want to replace one or two missing teeth.
- Dentures: Provide a removable option for patients who have more than a couple of teeth missing. Dentures can come incomplete, full and partial options. What you choose is dependent on whether you need replacement of both rows of upper and lower teeth, either rows or part of a row.
- Bridges: Fill in the gap left by missing teeth by using bridges–typically made by having a false tooth, also called a pontic, in the middle of a crown or implant.
Depending on your teeth replacement choice, your dentist will provide you with options such as the materials they are made of since dental implant systems will vary in their sophistication, quality, and reliability. They will walk you through the options and provide expert advice that will ultimately achieve the smile you are looking for.
Consider: Tooth-Coloured Fillings
If You Have: Cavities or Metal Fillings
According to the Findings of the Oral Health Component of the Canadian Health Measures Survey, cavities are the number one chronic disease found in Canadians. Furthermore, 20 percent of adult Canadians have on average almost 3 coronal cavities (a cavity that develops anywhere on the tooth except the root) that need fillings.
If you are one of the Canadians who have a history of cavities or had metal filings in the past, look for alternatives like tooth-coloured fillings. Unlike silver fillings that are noticeable once you open your mouth, tooth-coloured fillings are carefully chosen to match the shade of your natural teeth so other people cannot distinguish between them.
Consider: Porcelain Veneers or Crowns
If You Have: Broken Teeth
Broken teeth are not only a cosmetic issue, they can also affect your self-esteem and your everyday activities, such as eating or drinking without discomfort. To solve the issue of a broken tooth getting in the way of your confidence and health, seek out options that have a natural look like a porcelain crown or veneers.
- Crowns: Cover the entire tooth above the gum line and serve two functions to improve the health and look of your teeth.
- Veneers: Bond only to the front of the tooth that people are most likely to see when you smile.
Consider: Teeth Whitening
If You Have: Yellow or Discoloured Teeth
Teeth will darken naturally with aging and will also become discoloured over time with the frequent consumption of coffee, tea, wine or any number of things that you put in your mouth such as smoking will stain teeth. To get teeth pearly white again and regain a youthful smile, patients will often choose teeth whitening as an easy way to remove stains and discolouration on their teeth. Some are professional systems done in the dental clinic, which we recommend, while others may be a less effective system like a take home DIY kit.
Before you choose from these cosmetic dentistry options, talk to your dentist to decide on the right solution for you, whether it’s purely cosmetic reasons or for a complete dental restoration that willalso strengthen your overall oral health.
For more information on cosmetic and family dentistry services in Markham, don’t hesitate to contact us at Cornell Dental Centre. We’re always happy to chat.