Aesthetic Dentistry
Aesthetic Dentistry
Dental Bleaching
Factors such as diet (coffee, tea, wine), smoking, intake of specific medication, as well as time can result in a darker shade of natural teeth. Professional tooth bleaching can help to restore or improve the shade of teeth giving you a bright smile. It is required that the teeth and gums are healthy. Patients that have multiple fillings and crowns on teeth are not good candidates for bleaching.
Bleaching can be done in the dental office or at home. In the dental office, the bleaching procedure can be completed in 1 or 2 visits using a special bleaching agent and a dental bleaching light. Alternatively, the process can be completed at home where the patient applies a special bleaching agent in custom made mouth guards. This process can take 5-10 days or more based on the desired result. In certain cases, the in-office and at home bleaching procedures can be combined.
Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are restorations made of high quality thin ceramic material that are bonded on the surface of one or more teeth in order to improve their shape, position and shade. These are minimally invasive restorations that need minor or no alteration of the surface of natural teeth.
Composite resin Veneers-Bonding
Composite resin veneers have similar indications to ceramic veneers; however, they are made out of resin. Often the procedure can be finished in one appointment.
Esthetic composite resin restorations – Inlays and Onlays
Composite resin restorations (fillings) are the most contemporary and esthetic method to restore a tooth with a cavity. The procedure includes removal of the dacayed tooth structure followed by restoration with composite resin that has the appropriate shade to harmonically integrate with the rest of the tooth.
In situations where the damage of the tooth is so great that cannot be restored with a simple filling, then inlays and onlays offer alternative solutions for the replacement of old and defective fillings. These restorations are more conservative compared to a traditional crown. They are fabricated in the lab and they are bonded to the teeth. Onlays can also be made from ceramic material.
Esthetic Analysis and Digital Smile Design
The esthetic characterists/proportions of the teeth and face can be analyzed in order to identify the teeth that need to be enhanced as well as the type of desired improvement/alteration (shade, shape, size). This way we can determine if the desired alterations can be achieved with changing the position of the teeth (Orthodontics) or with esthetic prosthetic restorations (veneers/crowns). These alterations can be tried digitally (digital smile design) or temporarily directly on the patient’s teeth (mock-up).