A smile can break a million hearts! And so we believe that every person should have the million dollar smile. A perfect smile with sparkling, perfectly aligned shining white teeth can instill brilliant self confidence in a person thus completely changing your personality.
It is no wonder then that the top models, film stars and prominent public figures like to transform themselves through such corrective procedures. With such high demand this has almost become a specialty in itself.
This technique is good for those people who simply need to lighten their teeth. When teeth have been discolored from smoking, coffee, tea, or simply due to aging, this is often a good option. First, an impression is taken of the patient's mouth and stone models are poured up.
Then a precision fit splint is made (either by a lab or by the dental office) which has the facial surface of the teeth blocked out to allow room in the splint for the bleaching solution (typically 10% -15% carbamide peroxide) to stay on the teeth. This thin mouthpiece is then worn for one to three hours per night (or in the evening) daily, after the patient has carefully cleaned their teeth. It usually takes about two weeks to get to the desired results if worn every night.
This technique allows you to do this at your own home (or work) and on your own time. If you wish to lighten your teeth more in the future, you can simply purchase some more bleaching solution and use that. The cost for this procedure is generally a little less than the IN OFFICE TECHNIQUE.
First, the teeth are pumiced to clean them. Then an ointment is placed on the gums to protect them. A rubber dam (similar to a thin plastic square with holes in it to fit around the teeth) is placed over the teeth and the teeth are isolated to allow the bleaching solution to work. The patient then sits in front of a special bleaching light for approximately 30 minutes per arch. This technique usually works best after about three sessions.
Advantages include:
This is better when you have streaks of darker colors on your teeth, or if you have crowns or other fillings on your front teeth. Since we are able to use a stronger solution using this technique, we feel it produces a more reliable result.
Bleaching is a safe and effective way to whiten your teeth. For patients who are heavy smokers or coffee drinkers, the results may not be as long-lasting.
Bonding is a generic term for the cosmetic procedures that we do when we add materials to the teeth to either fill in spaces between the teeth, to lengthen teeth, to reshape teeth, or to change the color of the teeth. It includes composites and porcelain veneers. These procedures can radically improve the overall smile of a person and improve self-esteem and self-confidence. They are more conservative than full coverage crowns.
Composites are glass filled resins that are bonded to the teeth. The materials have improved dramatically in the past twenty years in terms of durability, esthetics, wear and use of placement. The newer light-cured type of composite materials allow us to place the filling in the tooth first to check the shade and then harden the material.
Crowns are typically porcelain crowns are placed when a significant amount of tooth structure is lost and when placing a filling would jeopardize the integrity of the tooth or compromise the aesthetics or strength. Traditional crowns have gold inside of them with porcelain bonded to the outside for aesthetics.
Porcelain inlays and onlays - In areas where strength and aesthetics are needed, porcelain inlays and onlays are an excellent option. In the contact areas, along the marginal ridge (the edge between the teeth), there is a fair amount of wear and tear.
Porcelain Veneers - These new veneers are thin porcelain facings that cover the tooth and can be used to reshape, repair, or restore a tooth back to it's original size or even better! They are bonded to the tooth using a resin material and they are used to fill in spaces in teeth, large chips on the teeth, and cover up discolorations on teeth.