Cosmetic Dentistry 101: Dental Crowns, Veneers, Implants, and More

Introduction

Cosmetic dentistry is not merely recommended for improving the appearance of your smile. It is also plays a vital role in helping you to maintain oral and dental health.

As you grow older, your teeth can start losing their enamel or get chipped and cracked. This will eventually weaken your tooth structure and leave them more vulnerable to breaks or decay that will require extraction or use of dentures.

Most reputable cosmetic dentists offer a range of services to take of the damage, wear and discoloration that affects our teeth as we grow older. When you visit your dentist, they will look for dental conditions such as chips or cracks in your teeth or any changes that can affect long-term oral health.

Benefits of Cosmetic Dentistry

Porcelain Veneers for Restoring Cracked or Discolored Teeth

Dental veneers are thin shells made of high quality dental ceramic. These shells are custom made and matched to the color of your teeth to blend seamlessly with your natural smile. Veneers are used by dentists for effective treatment of gaps, broken teeth, cracks and discoloration that does not respond to bleaching. Dental veneers bond permanently to the damaged tooth to produce long lasting results.

Teeth Whitening for Improved Self Confidence

Teeth whitening is one of the fastest ways to improve the appearance of aged or discolored teeth. It is very cost effective way to restore a youthful smile. Opalescence teeth whitening may be done in the office of your dentist or you can choose to have the whitening procedure administered at home. The improved appearance of the teeth gives an instant boost to your self confidence.

All-on-4 Procedures

This is a permanent low cost solution for those whose teeth are about to fall out. It restores the teeth quickly with little or no discomfort within one day. This all on four dental treatment does not require a long recovery time so you will be able to eat within 24 hours. It is a long term solution that will improve your health with dental implants that can last for the rest of your life.

Tooth Bonding for Improvement in Your Smile

Tooth bonding is a low cost alternative to using dental veneers. This treatment procedure may be shaped and color matched to blend perfectly with other teeth to give a very beautiful smile. With proper dental care and personal hygiene, the bonding can last for many years.

Dental Implants to Restore Missing Teeth

People with missing teeth will experience a lot of embarrassment and they are also a major dental health concern. With dental implants, the missing teeth may be restored in a natural way. A small titanium post is implanted in the jaw before a permanent tooth replacement is attached.

Why Do You Need A Dental Crown?

Dental crowns are made of a synthetic imprint of your tooth, one that will look like a cap placed on top of your tooth. Most of the crowns you will come across are made of porcelain, but you could get it in full metal like gold. These crowns go a long way in protecting the weak or damaged teeth for years to come. These are some reasons your tooth might be needing a cap.

• If your tooth is fragile, a cap will prevent any breaking, or if you have broken bits, it can hold it in place.
• Cavities have been a severe problem for many individuals, so if your tooth is covered with a large filling and it doesn’t have its natural structure then probably you need a crown. This dentist who offers dental crowns in harrisburg is a great option.
• The cap could be used to hold the dental bridge in place giving a nice finish.
• If you are expecting a root canal treatment, then a dental crown could be used as a finishing step to ensure your tooth is kept beautiful and safe.
• The caps have also been used to solve some of the cosmetic tooth problems, achieving those perfectly lined teeth to compliment your smile has been made much easier.
• They can also be used on kid’s primary teeth, especially if the dentists notice the tooth is weak or at high risk of decay, no need for your little one to lose a tooth so young.

Dental crowns have been used for years to ensure you get back your confidence in smiling to the world. And since this has been around for centuries, designs have evolved to suit your personality, have a look at the types of crowns you might come across.

Types of dental crowns you will come across

Once your dentist has made a molding of your tooth, they go ahead and customize the cap in dental laboratories or clinics that have specialized in this field. The crown is designed in a manner it covers all the visible areas of your tooth, to ensure its nice and safe. Other than offering an excellent fit these caps can be personalized providing you with that needed durability for years to come.

Porcelain or ceramic crowns

These artificial crowns are mainly used for front teeth, as it will offer you that natural look and colour that will compliment your natural teeth. Also, if you have metal allergies, this is the advisable route to go.

The combination option

You could also consider the use of porcelain and metal in your crowns. This crown will give you that natural and robust look, and because of the metal used, there is some added durability to it.

Composite resin crowns

If your budget is tight and you need to get that crown then this is an option to consider, it is a cheaper option from the other types available. But it is important to note, it is much weaker than their counterparts and is more prone to fractures. So maybe cheap might be expensive in the long run.

The use of metal crowns

If you are all about standing out and being different in what you do, how about metal crowns, you can get it in chromium, gold, nickel and even palladium. With the metal caps, less of your tooth will be removed, and since it is metal, you are assured of durability, thus, offering that sturdy surface to chew on your meals. These caps tend to be highly visible; thus, they are reserved for the molars.

Why Dental Implants May Be For You

While you hate the fact that you have to say goodbye to the last of your natural teeth, there is one bit of good news. After an examination, the dental professional has determined you are an ideal candidate for dental implants. Along with going over the different approaches to installing the implants, it helps to think about how life will be once they are in place. Here are four of the perks you will enjoy once the work is completed.

You Will Like What You See in the Mirror

Think about what you used to see every morning when you looked in the bathroom mirror. When your natural teeth were in such poor condition, that reflection was not all that appealing. Even after washing your face and combing your hair, opening you mouth was anything but a pleasant way to start the day.

Now you don’t mind the bed-head hair so much. That’s because when you open your mouth, all you see is a set of perfectly shaped and properly sized teeth. While it still takes a little while to get the rest of your face ready for the day, having a set of implants that look great will do wonders for increasing confidence in how you look.

You Can Eat What You Like at Dinner Parties

Have you ever been at a dinner party or out for a meal and had someone excuse themselves so they could apply more adhesive and slip their denture plates back in position? Worse yet, have you been out with someone who took a bite of something only to have a plate slip out completely? That’s not something that you want to have happen once your natural teeth are history.

As dentists will explain, dental implants don’t go anywhere. They are fixed in position without the aid of adhesives. When you go out to eat, you can relax and enjoy just about any food you want. There are no worries about slippage and certainly not a chance for the implants to fall out.

You Will Never Have to Take Out Your Teeth

With dentures, there’s the nightly ritual of having to take them out to soak in a solution overnight. They also have to be scrubbed with care the following morning. Don’t forget that they need to be handled carefully. The last thing one wants to do is allow a plate to fall off the edge of the sink and crack into two or more pieces upon reaching the tile floor.

Since your implants are fixed in place, you don’t remove them. You still brush them before you go to bed and can brush the implants again after having breakfast. Knowing you never have to take out your teeth or use some special soaking solution to clean them is certainly an appealing feature.

You Are Not Likely to Need Replacements

Dentures are fine for a few years, but they usually need to be replaced at some point. That’s because of the changes in the shape of your bone structure. Without something embedded in the gums to help them retain their shape, it’s just a matter of time before the bone shifts and the gums shrink.

Many people are amazed to find out how long dental implants last on average. While there is some possibility that you could crack a cap and need it replaced, it’s not unusual for the implants to last for the rest of the patient’s life. Compare that to having to replace dentures several times during that same period.

Conclusion

Now that you know the benefits of cosmetic dentistry, you would be more willing to allow your dentist to perform any of the above services to restore your smile and improve your oral health and fitness.

And if you are still mulling over the benefits of implants, crowns or being fitted for dentures, sit down with a dental professional and make a list of the pros and cons associated with each choice. You’ll find that in your case, one option may be better than another.

About Theresa Duncan

Originally from Detroit, MI, Theresa has been offering health and fitness advice for the last 30 years while working as an engineer. She decided to turn her passion into a profession, and finds nothing more satisfying than helping others reach their health and fitness goals.