Cosmetic Dentistry

Cosmetic Dentistry - Cosmetic dentistry refers to a host of dental treatments designed to enhance the smile and correct everything from minor flaws in the smile to severe tooth discoloration, missing teeth, and uneven spacing between teeth.

·         Teeth Whitening - As a person ages the adult teeth often become darker due to changes in the mineral structure of the tooth. Teeth can also become stained by bacterial pigments, foodstuff and tobacco. Tooth whitening lightens teeth and helps to remove the stains and discoloration. There are three methods for whitening teeth: In-Office whitening (performed in the cosmetic dentist's office) and at-home teeth bleaching (involving the use of take-home bleaching kits).

Risk Factors - Whitening is unlikely to cause serious side effects, although some people's teeth may become more sensitive for a short while. You may get mild gum irritation as well.

o   Clinic/ In-Office - In-office whitening usually takes 30 to 90 minutes. You will need one to three appointments. The number will depend upon the method used, how severe your stains are and how white you want your teeth to be. Different types of stains respond differently to the treatment.

§   Light Activated – (Single sitting) – whitening agent is activated by ultraviolet light.

§  Laser Activated – (Single sitting) - whitening agent is activated by laser.

o   Home Kit – (Single sitting) – initial process will be done at the clinic and then the rest has to be done at home as explained by your dentist.

·    Smile Designing - (Multiple sittings) – helps correct teeth crowding, chipped teeth, misshapen or discolored teeth.

Factors that influence the smile design are:

§  Your facial shape. For example, a long face may need to accentuate width to appear more oval. Someone with attractive features in the center of the face may need bold central incisors to draw attention to that center.

§  Your image aspirations, your age, or how old you want to appear. Longer central incisors make you appear younger. Also, whiter teeth make you appear younger. Conversely, a flatter smile or a more subdued color to the teeth make you appear more mature.

There are new techniques available that can make your smile ‘picture perfect’.

o   Bonding: Bonding restores teeth that have suffered damage such as chips/fractures, are with gaps and that are discolored or misaligned. Strong durable tooth colored plastic resins are used to rebuild the teeth and make them look normal. Addition of composites i.e. tooth colored filling material can re-contour and redesign your smile dramatically.

o   Laminates/Porcelain Veneers: Porcelain Veneers are hard tooth shaped shells which are adhered or cemented on surface of prepared teeth to correct discolored, damaged/crooked teeth, to close gaps between teeth and also to lengthen short teeth.

o   Cosmetic Gum Recontouring:  Some people are plagued with a Gummy Smile; where too much of gums are seen when they smile. Gums are re-contoured/repositioned for a wider, friendlier and a more open smile.

o   Microabrasion: Removal of small layers of enamel to eliminate minor defects/spots.

o   Cosmetic tooth Recontouring: Many people of all ages have irregularly shaped tooth edges, bulky teeth or worn off edges. Assuming there are no functional problems with the teeth fitting together, teeth can be reshaped or re-contoured to look smooth and natural.



·         Tooth jewellery - (Single sitting)

Skyce (Tooth jewellery) is the latest thing in cosmetic dentistry. The procedure is very simple. Just like a bracket, the design is bonded onto your teeth. It's easy to change or remove and usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes. No drilling - so doesn't harm teeth

·         Orthodontic closure of Diastemia - (Multiple sittings)

A diastema is a distinctive gap between teeth. The term diastema or gapped teeth is used most often for describing a gap between the two upper front teeth (incisors). The condition is very common in children at the early stages of dental development.  About 50% of children between the ages of 6 and 8 have gapped teeth, but in most children the gap closes naturally after the eruption of the permanent teeth. If the diastema remains after the permanent incisors and canine teeth have erupted, it is possible that the gap will not close of its own.

Apart from natural teeth development there are some other factors that can contribute to the development of a diastema or gapped teeth:

§  Size mismatch between teeth and jaws - Small sized teeth or a large jaw create extra space available for teeth, which could move apart from each other causing gapped teeth.

§  Missing teeth can also cause a diastema for the same reason.

§  Abnormal jaw bone structure either in shape or in the relative angle of left and right side may prevent the upper incisors from touching normally.

§  Lip biting - Biting the lower lip may cause the front teetn to drift apart creating a diastema problem.

§  Tongue Thrusting - the habit of pushing the tongue against the upper front teeth could cause a diastema and teeth protrusion.

§  Oversized labial fraenum - The maxillary labial fraenum is a piece of tissue that extends from under the middle of the upper lip to the gum just above the two upper front teeth. In some situations, the labial fraenum continues to grow and passes between the two front teeth, keeping teeth at a distance and creating what is called a maxillary diastema.

§  Lingual fraenum - is the fraenum that attaches the tongue to the floor of the mouth. In some cases it may cause a gap in the front teeth of the lower jaw.

The most common treatment options for gapped teeth include:

o   Orthodontic treatment - An orthodontist can close a gap between teeth with the use of dental braces by slightly moving the gapped teeth close to each other. For big diastemas, several teeth have to be moved towards the area of the gap, so that there are equal gaps between all front teeth. Orthodontic treatment of diastema provides permanent results but it may take a long time to complete (more than one year for big gaps).

o   Bonding or dental veneers – Cosmetic dentists can close a diastema by making the teeth adjacent to the gap to look wider. It is achieved by applying composite material (tooth bonding) or porcelain veneers on the front surface of the teeth. The advantage of the method is that it provides an immediate correction of the diastema in 2 appointments (instant orthodontics), but it can not be used for large gaps because teeth will look abnormally wide.

o   Prosthetic dentistry - If the diastema is created because there are missing teeth, the available treatments include dental implants, bridge, or partial denture.

o   Fraenectomy – if the diastema is caused by an abnormal fraenum the dentist may suggest a surgery to remove the fraenum before starting any other treatment to close the gap between teeth.