Cosmetic Dentistry

BLEACHING

In the area of cosmetic dentistry, we provide a number of services to enhance the appearance of your smile. These include tooth bleaching procedures and cosmetic veneering of teeth.

Tooth bleaching is a very popular treatment we provide through our office. With the bleaching procedures, you can safely brighten the color of the teeth without altering the teeth themselves. Tooth bleaching procedures involve the fabrication of a customized bleach tray made from a model (mold) of the individual’s teeth. The tray is then coated with a concentrated bleaching gel and put in the mouth, where it is worn for six hours at a time. Often times, patients choose to put in the bleach tray just before going to bed and wear it at night while sleeping. After about one hundred twenty hours of bleaching time, the teeth will have brightened as much as they are going to. Maintenance of the bleached teeth requires the use of the tray and bleach for only one or two nights every eighteen to twenty four months. Home care is critical when bleaching teeth and visits to our office every ten to fourteen days during the bleaching process for monitoring are essential.

More information about tooth bleaching is available from the American Dental Society's webpage.


VENEERING

In the area of cosmetic dentistry, we provide a number of services to enhance the appearance of your smile. These include tooth bleaching procedures and cosmetic veneering of teeth.

Cosmetic veneering of the teeth in the smile involves the use of thin porcelain or composite coverings on the front surface of the teeth, similar to the artificial fingernails used by some people today. The porcelain veneers are slightly more expensive than the composite veneers, but the porcelain veneers are more durable and color stable over greater periods of time. The laboratory fabricated veneering (both porcelain and composite) procedures involve preparing the surface of the teeth for the veneers, the taking of an impression of the prepared teeth, a wait of about one week for the laboratory to make the veneers and a final appointment to cement the veneers. The veneered teeth require the same oral hygiene and home care needs as the rest of the teeth, namely, brushing and flossing. The immediate change in the appearance of the teeth from the before to the after is, in many instances, striking.

For more information on veneering teeth, visit the American Dental Association's webpage.


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