Dental Blog

How You Can Improve Your Smile

People who want to improve their smile usually want teeth that are whiter, straighter, and don’t have dark or discolored fillings that show when they smile. There are several options, depending on your objectives. Some options are simple and relatively less expensive, and some are more complicated and have a higher fee. However, modern dental care has made even complete smile makeovers much more gentle and easier than ever before. In addition, because we have made long term financing available to our patients, even a complete smile makeover can work with your budget. So, don’t be concerned about time, discomfort, or even cost as you consider your options. So what are your options?

1. Bleaching

Bleaching is fast, easy, safe, effective and very inexpensive. To be a candidate for tooth bleaching, you need to have teeth that are basically acceptable in shape and alignment, without many fillings that show in the smile zone. If you have teeth that are generally yellow in color, they will bleach better and faster than teeth that are generally gray in color, but almost all teeth can be improved by tooth bleaching.

If you have crowns or fillings that do appear in the smile zone, you would bleach your teeth first and, then, after the natural teeth are white, replace any fillings or crowns that do not match. With bleaching teeth, you cannot pick the exact color you will get, nor can you make the colors of all your teeth match each other. More complicated cases will not get a good result from tooth bleaching. Also, the reasons teeth can be bleached is because they are porous. In other words, there are tiny holes in the surface of the enamel so the stain and dark colors can come out. In the same way, over a few years, the teeth can darken again, depending on habits such as smoking, drinking coffee, tea, red wines etc.

>>Learn more about whitening

2. Porcelain Veneers & Crowns

Porcelain veneers are done by shaving just a millimeter off your teeth and placing a thin custom made shell or veneer of porcelain on your tooth. As a result, you can get the shade you want and the colors will be uniform and will not darken over time.

Porcelain crowns involve more reduction of tooth structure than veneers and are generally done only when necessary due to severe decay or extensive fillings or damage to the teeth that need treatment. The color changes are predictable, uniform and long lasting. Like veneers, the dentist can create subtle color effects and variations is surface finish that make the teeth look as white as you want and still look natural. In many cases, we combine porcelain veneers and crowns depending on what is needed, and you cannot tell which is which. They all look great.

>>Learn more about porcelain veneers and crowns

3. Cosmetic Orthodontics (Straightening)

Many adults want to have a nice smile but don’t want ugly braces on their teeth for years. The solution to this dilemma is cosmetically focused orthodontics, which creates a straight smile fast, without the look of traditional braces and is extremely affordable. Options like Invisalign and Six Month Smiles can give you the straight smile you want!

>>Learn more about straightening

Please note that we cannot guarantee that the solutions offered here are definitely applicable to your condition since we have not examined your mouth. However, if you know the solutions that are generally applied to dental problems, you will be  much better informed  and will likely make better decisions in your own dental health care.