Cosmetic Dentistry In-Depth
Your smile is quite important. It is often the first thing that others notice about you, and it can have a significant impact on the impressions you leave. A beautiful smile can radiate confidence. If your smile is less than perfect, you may feel self-conscious. When you are self-conscious about your smile, you may try to hide it behind your hand or closed lips. Worse, you may even refuse to smile at all. These actions might not seem significant, but they can have a major impact on the impressions you leave. Fortunately, imperfections in your smile can be corrected. At Encino Cosmetic Dentistry, we can improve the quality of your smile with cosmetic dentistry.
Dental ImplantsTooth loss is a serious issue that affects your entire life. In addition to making it more difficult to eat and speak, tooth loss also significantly affects the quality of your smile. You can lose teeth for a variety of different reasons, including gum disease, facial trauma, and tooth decay. No matter how you lose your teeth, replacing those missing teeth is essential for restoring the functions of those teeth as well as your smile.
Dental Implants are a modern solution used to replace missing teeth, providing a unique alternative to bridges and dentures. This treatment involves the surgical implantation of small posts into your jawbone. Your bone, then fuses to these posts, a natural process called osseointegration. This process stabilizes the posts in your jaw, turning them into strong replacement roots. Your replacement teeth are then secured onto these posts with small screws.
Dental implants are an incredibly versatile treatment that can be used to replace a single tooth up to an entire arch of teeth. They also provide several significant benefits, including restoring your abilities to eat and speak, greater comfort, and restoring stimulation to your jawbone. Dental implants also provide an incredibly realistic restoration to your smile. The ceramic crowns that act as your replacement teeth look exactly like your natural teeth. Your gums also sit around the crowns just like they sit around your real teeth. No one will be able to tell the difference between your false teeth and your real teeth, and you can smile confidently.
Porcelain VeneersEven minor imperfections in your teeth can significantly impact the quality of your smile. Small chips and cracks, gapping, slightly overlapping, and teeth that are oddly sized or shaped can all play a role. Porcelain veneers are a solution used to treat these minor cosmetic flaws in your teeth, completely transforming the appearance of your smile.
Porcelain veneers are thin shells made of porcelain. They resemble small shells and are made to be bonded to the front surfaces of your affected teeth. To fit properly over your teeth, a small amount of your tooth enamel needs to be removed—this aids in preventing a bulky feeling and a more natural look.
The use of porcelain provides many significant benefits. The material is fairly strong and can last 15 to 20 years, or longer, with proper care. It is stain-resistant and can even resist stains better than your natural teeth. Finally, porcelain looks exactly like your real teeth. We can stain porcelain to perfectly match the color of the rest of your teeth. It also reflects light in a similar manner to natural enamel. Once bonded into place, your smile is completely transformed, leaving you with a beautiful smile everyone will take notice of.
Inlays and OnlaysCavities are typically treated with fillings. While fillings are effective in many different situations, there are some situations in which they can cause more problems if placed. One such situation is cavities in the chewing surfaces of your molars. An amalgam filling in this area can be driven deeper into the tooth due to the stronger chewing pressures exerted on the back of the mouth. This can cause the tooth to split. A composite filling in this area may not be able to stand up pressures and can wear down too quickly or break.
Inlays and onlays are designed to treat cavities in the chewing surfaces of your molars. Inlays treat cavities in the crevices, between the cusps. Onlays, also called partial crowns, treat cavities that affect the cusps of the molars. Both inlays and onlays are known as indirect fillings. This means that they are made in a lab from an impression of your mouth rather than cured inside of the cavity. They both can be made from many different materials, including composite resin, metal, gold, and porcelain. Porcelain provides the greatest aesthetic benefits, blending in perfectly with the rest of your natural tooth structure, providing you with a seamless restoration.
BridgesLosing even just one tooth can significantly impact your oral health. Losing a tooth near the front of your mouth can also significantly affect the appearance of your smile. Even if the tooth is out of sight, your natural teeth can begin to shift out of proper alignment, affecting your smile and your confidence. There are many different causes of tooth loss.
In some cases, a tooth may fall out on its own. In other cases, the tooth may need to be extracted. No matter what the cause of your tooth loss, it is essential that the missing tooth is replaced as soon as possible.
A bridge is a traditional restoration used to replace a missing tooth. There are several different types of bridges, including cantilever bridges, Maryland bridges, and fixed bridges. Fixed bridges are the most commonly used. This type of restoration consists of a false, or pontic, tooth that fills in the empty space left behind by your missing tooth. The pontic tooth is anchored into place using two dental crowns.
The crowns fit over the teeth adjacent to the empty space, holding your bridge securely in place. Many bridges are made from porcelain. It restores many of the functions of your missing tooth, including restoring your abilities to bite, chew, and speak. The bridge also functions to hold your adjacent teeth in proper alignment, preventing them from shifting out of place. Additionally, the ceramic material allows the bridge to restore the beauty of your smile. We can stain the material to perfectly blend in with the color of your natural teeth. No one will be able to tell that you were ever missing a tooth.
CrownsYour teeth may be the strongest substance in your body, but they are not impervious to harm. There are several different issues that can cause tooth damage, including facial trauma, biting down on something very hard or larger amounts of tooth decay. Getting treatment for tooth damage, even damage that seems minor at the time is essential for restoring the affected tooth and preventing the need for an extraction.
A crown is a common restoration for treating damaged teeth, and teeth affected by decay too large to be treated with a filling. This type of restoration resembles a sort of cap in appearance and is made to fit over the entire visible surface of your affected tooth. It surrounds the entire tooth, providing it with protection, preventing infections, and restoring its strength.
Crowns are made from many different materials. Different materials have their advantages as well as their disadvantages. While metal crowns are the strongest solution, they are not a good aesthetic option. These crowns are silver or gold in color, which can significantly impact the appearance of your smile if used to treat a tooth near the front of your mouth. We can provide you with a perfectly natural restoration to your smile, in addition to your oral health, with a ceramic crown.
Ceramic crowns are not as strong as metal, but they do provide the best aesthetics. It can be stained to perfectly match the exact color of your surrounding teeth. Additionally, it reflects light just like natural tooth enamel, perfectly restoring the appearance of your smile. Moreover, because it does not contain any metals, it is perfect for patients who have allergies to metal.
BondingBonding is another solution for treating minor dental imperfections, including small chips or cracks in your enamel, small gaps between your teeth, and teeth that are disproportionately small or misshapen. Bonding is an alternative to porcelain veneers. It is completely non-invasive and one of the most affordable cosmetic treatments available.
Bonding uses composite resin to treat minor imperfections in your teeth. This material is made up of fine glass, plastic, and other substances. It is a tooth-colored material that is easily molded to fit a variety of different needs. With bonding, we can eliminate chips in your teeth, fill spaces between them, and completely transform the size or shape of a tooth. The procedure is quick, taking only about 30 minutes to complete. It also does not require any local anesthetic. As the name suggests, the composite resin bonds to your natural tooth structure. It is cured using a special blue light that dries and hardens it. Once cured, the material blends in perfectly with the rest of your natural tooth structure, providing a perfectly natural restoration or improvement to the quality of your smile.
Teeth WhiteningYour teeth are a naturally bright white color. However, there are many factors that can dull and discolor your tooth enamel, including what you eat and drink, tobacco use, and more. Any amount of discoloration can significantly dull the beauty of your smile.
You may have noticed several teeth whitening options available in the oral care aisle of the store. These products promise incredible results in a short period. However, they contain very low levels of bleaching agents. They may be effective for minor surface stains, but they often cannot help you achieve, the more significant results you are searching for.
We provide two methods for teeth whitening. One is an in-office procedure called chairside whitening. With this procedure, you need only one appointment that takes only an hour of your time. After cleaning your teeth, a bleaching agent is applied to the surfaces of your teeth. A light is shown over your mouth. As the active ingredient breaks down, it forms tiny oxygen bubbles that enter into your tooth enamel and eliminates stains. After your treatment is over, the bleaching agent is rinsed off. The results of your treatment are visible immediately.
The other method for brightening your smile is with whitening trays. With this treatment, we provide you with custom created trays and a bleaching agent so that you can whiten your teeth in the comfort of your own home. The trays are meant to be worn twice a day for several hours or once overnight as you sleep. Typically, you wear the trays daily for one to two weeks depending upon the severity of your staining. Results begin to show in just a few days.
Smile MakeoverThere are many factors that go into the appearance of your smile. This includes things such as the color of your teeth, the appearance of your teeth, and their size and shape. Even the appearance of your gums can play a significant role. More than one issue can affect the overall quality of your smile. For cases such as these, you may be recommended for a smile makeover.
A smile makeover is a completely customizable treatment that is performed to help you achieve your most beautiful smile. There are some different treatments that may be provided, including whitening, bonding, porcelain veneers, crowns, bridges, Dental Implants, and different treatments for your gums such as an aesthetic gum lift or gum grafting.
Before you receive a smile makeover, a thorough consultation is needed. During this consultation, we look over the condition of your teeth, their alignment, and the condition of your gum tissue. We also discuss the goals for your smile. We are then able to determine the best cosmetic treatments to meet your needs and in what order they should be performed in.
Cosmetic dental procedures can help to greatly improve the overall appearance of your smile and significantly boost your confidence. Call Encino Cosmetic Dentistry at (818) 783-0408 to schedule your consultation and find out just how cosmetic dentistry can improve your smile today! |
