If your teeth are stained, discolored, worn, chipped, broken, misaligned, misshapen, or have gaps between them, modern cosmetic dentistry can give you a better smile.

A “smile makeover” improves the appearance of your smile through one or more cosmetic dentistry procedures. Cosmetic dentists work with you to develop a treatment plan. Below you’ll find some information that can help you learn more about the various types of cosmetic dental procedures available.

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Types of Cosmetic Dentistry

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Teeth Whitening:

 

• Teeth whitening can be one of the simplest and least expensive ways to improve your smile. Teeth can be bleached with in-office products in your dentist’s office , or you can buy a mold and gels from your dentist to bleach your teeth at home.

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Dental Veneers:

 

• Dental veneers are wafer-thin, custom-made shells of tooth-colored porcelain or resin that cover the front surface of the teeth.

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• After removing about a half-millimeter of enamel from the tooth surface, these thin shells are bonded (cemented) to the front of the teeth, changing their color, shape, size, or length.

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• Veneers are often called “Hollywood teeth.

Dental Bonding:

• In dental bonding, a tooth-colored, putty-like resin, which is a durable plastic material, is applied to the tooth and hardened with an ultraviolet or laser light, bonding the material to the tooth.

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• Your dentist then trims, shapes, and polishes it. Bonding can repair decayed, chipped, cracked, or misshapen teeth; it is also a good cosmetic alternative to, or replacement for, amalgam or silver fillings.

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Dental Crown

 

• A dental crown, also called a cap, fits over and replaces the entire decayed or damaged tooth above the gum line, restoring its shape, size, strength, and appearance.

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• Crowns keep a weak tooth from breaking or hold a cracked tooth together; they can be used cosmetically to cover misshapen or severely discolored teeth.

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• Crowns can be made from metal, porcelain-fused-to-metal, resin, or ceramic.

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Inlays and Onlays

 

• Inlays and onlays, also called indirect fillings, are made from gold, porcelain, or composite materials and fill decayed or damaged teeth.

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• Dental fillings are molded into place during an office visit; however, inlays and onlays are created in a dental laboratory and bonded into place by your dentist.

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• The filling is called an “inlay” when the material is bonded within the center of a tooth; it is called an “onlay” when the filling includes one or more points of the tooth or covers the biting surface.

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• Inlays and onlays preserve as much healthy tooth as possible and are an alternative to crowns.

Dental Implants
 

• Dental implants are titanium replacement tooth roots inserted into the bone socket of the missing tooth.

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• As the jawbone heals, it grows around the implanted metal post, anchoring it securely in the jaw and providing a foundation for a replacement tooth. 

Other Options:

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• A bridge is made of crowns for the teeth on either side of a gap with false teeth in between.

 

• A denture is a removable replacement for missing teeth.

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• Dental braces can straighten crooked or misaligned teeth and works by applying continuous pressure over a period of time to slowly move teeth in a specific direction.