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A smile can be the most eye-catching feature of your face. Even a subtle change
can make a big difference in the way you look and feel. New techniques like
whitening, bonding,
enamel shaping, veneers,
and white fillings allow us to create a beautiful
smile with minimal changes to existing teeth.
Teeth
Whitening is a very popular procedure in cosmetic dentistry. It is
a simple, effective, permanent technique for obtaining a dazzling, whiter
smile at home in a matter of days.
Bonding
is simply adding a little tooth-colored material to "fill in the blanks."
One of the most frequent uses of the bonding technique is to fill in a gap
between front teeth.
Enamel
Shaping (Contouring) is the process of shaping natural teeth to improve
their appearance. Shaping can be used to correct minor cases of crowded or
overlapping teeth, smooth rough edges, or make small adjustments to the shape
of a tooth.
Veneers
are custom, porcelain facings that are bonded to the front surfaces of teeth
to whiten teeth, close spaces, straighten teeth, or repair chipped or worn
teeth. The veneers are only about 1 mm thick (the thickness of a fingernail).
That same thickness is "shaved" off the natural tooth surface so
when the veneer is bonded to the tooth, the tooth doesn't feel or look "thicker".
Caps
(Crowns) are also used for cosmetic correction in certain cases, instead
of or along with veneers, as the situation may dictate. For example, certain
teeth do not wear well with veneers, where crowns may be more durable; or,
a tooth with a bad fracture or a large filling
that is breaking down, or has decay around it, may be a candidate for a crown
instead of a veneer. This patient has veneers on top, but one of the front
teeth had a large filling and had to be crowned.
White
fillings replace silver or gold fillings with a more natural looking
tooth-colored material. Since teeth are translucent, dark fillings cause the
whole tooth to appear darker when viewed from the side. Replacing older dark
fillings with white fillings will keep your smile glowing!
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© Copyright 2003-2006 Dental WebSmith, Inc. and R. Thomas Bayley, III, DMD, P.C. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: The information provided within is intended to help you better understand dental conditions and procedures. It is not meant to serve as delivery of medical or dental care. If you have specific questions or concerns, contact your health care provider.
