Smiling is something that can make a lot of people feel self-conscious, especially if their smile isn’t the best. Fortunately, there are several ways to improve the appearance of your teeth. This is called cosmetic dentistry, and many different types of cosmetic dentistry procedures are available to help improve your teeth’ appearance. Below are the top 5 that you can get at your local family dentist or dental office.
#1: Bonding Treatments
You’ll most likely benefit from tooth bonding if you have chipped, cracked, or broken teeth. Teeth binding is a cosmetic dental procedure using composite resin to repair a damaged tooth or teeth. When choosing this procedure, it’s essential to understand that this is done when there are no other concerns involving the teeth. This means that the tooth needing bonding isn’t severely damaged, nor do you wish to whiten the remainder of your teeth. Bonding resins are chosen based on the color of your teeth at the time of the bonding treatment.
#2: Dental Crowns
Severely damaged and decayed teeth may not be able to be repaired with bonding treatments, but they can be restored with dental crowns. Crowns are tooth-shaped structures that are placed over the damaged or decaying tooth. First, the bad tooth is shaved down to allow the crown to fit over it. Other than appearing to be a natural, healthy tooth, the primary function of a crown is to protect the teeth covering. This can prevent it from decaying or becoming more damaged or protect a tooth recovering from dental surgery.
#3: Dental Implants
Dental implants are used when there’s a tooth missing. A false tooth (or teeth) is implanted with a titanium screw into the gum. Implanting a false tooth can take months since an incision has to be made into the gums to allow the tooth to be implanted. Also, it can take quite a while to heal, increasing the risk of infection if the area isn’t maintained correctly by using excellent oral hygiene.
This cosmetic dental procedure isn’t always the best option for everyone. Although dental implant surgery (DIS) has a very high success rate, issues such as infections, nerve damage, or gum recession can still occur. Sinus issues, though much less common, can also arise from DIS.
#4: Dentures
Dentures are a set of removable false teeth used to correct a smile that is missing a significant number of teeth. Dentures can either be a complete or partial set for the top or bottom row of teeth. Partial dentures require you to have healthy teeth remaining in your mouth.
While dentures are created to look just as natural as natural teeth, they aren’t always the most natural feeling type of false teeth. It can take a few months to get used to the feeling of wearing dentures. Fortunately, you can still eat and chew food while wearing dentures, and they should be taken care of just like natural teeth.
#5: Veneers
Veneers are currently one of the most popular forms of false teeth. Veneers permanently adhere to your natural teeth once they’ve been shaved down to allow the veneers to adhere to your teeth. Like dentures, they look very much like natural teeth, but unlike dentures, they can’t be removed once the procedure has been completed.
While veneers are some of the most realistic-looking and comfortable-wearing types of false teeth, they can be painful to install and very expensive. Fortunately, there are a type of temporary veneers that clip onto your natural teeth, and they aren’t painful to install, nor are they expensive.Â
Several types of dental procedures can correct damaged or crooked teeth. Check with your dentist to determine which procedure will work best for you.
