Cosmetic and Restorative Services

  • Are there spaces between your teeth?
  • Are your teeth dull, dark or stained?
  • Are they crooked, misshapen or out of line?
  • Do you show too much gum?
  • Are your gums irregularly shaped, higher on some teeth, lower on others?
  • Are your teeth too small or too large?
  • Are the edges of your teeth (as a group) too long or too short?
  • Do your teeth slant on way or the other?
  • Is the midline of your two front teeth centered with your face and nose?
  • Are the edges of your canines (eye teeth) too pointy or too flat?
  • Are the biting edges worn down?
  • Are any of your teeth missing?
  • Have your gums receded?
  • Are any ugly dental fillings showing?
  • Do any old or recently crowned teeth not match your natural teeth?
  • Are any of your teeth that have silver filling stained blue or gray?

When your smile is attractive, other benefits follow - like an improved self-image, better dental hygiene, an improved sense of personal well being and better overall health. Now, recent scientific breakthroughs have made dental enhancements much more affordable. Dentists can contour, color, fill-in, align and even replace teeth with materials that are remarkably strong and durable, yet less expense than before. In many cases, cosmetic and restorative dental treatment can be used in place of more involved and costly orthodontic or surgical procedures.

Cosmetic Dental Procedures:
Bleaching:Bleaching can whiten dark, dull and/or stained teeth. Bleaching isperformed by taking an impression of your teeth and making a model of them. From this model, a clear soft bleaching tray or "Jell-O mold" is made. The tray is filled with bleaching gel and placed into the mouth directly over the teeth and can be worn during the day or while you sleep. The results can be seen daily, but most patients must wear the bleaching tray for about two weeks.

Bonding:
Bonding is an option when teeth are chipped or slightly decayed. By cleaning and etching the tooth structure with a mild acid solution a clear adhesive liquid can be painted onto the tooth to fill the indentations. Then a putty-like tooth colored plastic filling material is applied to the tooth and shaped. It is permanently hardened and fused to the tooth with a handheld very bright blue light "photo curing". Bonding makes a great tooth colored filling for small cavities, chipped or broken surfaces, and for filling in small gaps. When the restoration reaches too large a size, the bonded material becomes too weak to withstand the forces placed upon it. If problems with bonding occur, the next choice for restorations would be porcelain laminate veneers or simply "veneers".
Porcelain Laminate Veneers:When simple bonding cannot be used, porcelain laminate veneers may be used. Porcelain veneers can dramatically change an entire smile by changing the shape, color, size and arrangement of teeth. Often "veneers" can be used as an alternative to orthodontic treatment. This technique consists of shaving a thin layer of outer tooth structure and then making an impression of the prepared teeth and sending it to a dental laboratory where a ceramist will make very thin porcelain facings. The laminates are then bonded onto the prepared teeth with the blue light gun. Porcelain laminates or "veneers" are the most popular technique used for dramatic smile makeovers.

Porcelain Jackets (All Porcelain Crowns):
Porcelain jacket crowns are used when there is not enough tooth structure left, orthe chewing demands in the mouth are too great for laminates. Porcelain Jackets are pure porcelain crowns placed on a fully prepared tooth. They are the most life-like of all full crown preparations. While we prepare the teeth and take an impression for the lab; temporary crowns can be made and worn. Within two weeks, the porcelain jackets are permanently bonded onto the patient's teeth.

Porcelain Fused to Metal Crowns:
Porcelain fused to metal crowns are used when when teeth are loose due to periodontal bone loss, biting pressure is too great for porcelain jackets or when gaps from missing teeth must be filled in. A metal alloy must be placed under the porcelain for strength. Again, the teeth are prepared for a full coverage restoration. After the impression is taken, a metal coping is made for the prepared tooth and is then covered with porcelain.

Full Gold Onlays and Crowns:
Gold onlays or crowns are used when individual back teeth are broken down. These are the strongest and longest lasting of all the posterior restorations and are used when esthetic concerns are outweighed by the need for strength and longevity. This technique is similar to the porcelain fused to metal crown technique. Benefits of this restoration is the advantage of the gold. The gold is what supports the tooth during heavy biting loads and thus protects the tooth and nerve.