Cosmetic Dentistry
Smiling with confidence can make the world of difference to ones self-esteem. Studies have shown that people with beautiful smiles look thinner, younger and are more successful as they have a greater self-esteem than those with less beautiful smiles.
The smile is one of our most important assets. A beautiful smile will give one confidence in the way we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. A smile reflects one’s inner self. An attractive smile in harmony with the lips and face crowns the beauty of that person’s character.
There is no reason today why anyone need be unhappy with his or her smile. Cosmetic dentistry, including teeth whitening and porcelain veneers is now available to everybody – not just the rich and famous – at a very reasonable cost.
A smile can be improved by simple techniques such as tooth whitening, reshaping teeth by making minor adjustments and replacing discoloured restorations. More severe problems may require greater intervention such as veneers (still minimal tooth substance removed), orthodontics, implants, crown and bridge work etc. Cases such as this would include misshaped teeth, badly aligned teeth, unsightly gaps or discoloured teeth.
Cosmetic contouring is an easy way to alter the appearance of minor irregularities of the teeth e.g. chipped teeth, teeth of varying heights. These can occur as a result of normal wear of the teeth or through trauma eg. a sports injury. A minimal amount of the tooth is removed to reshape the tooth and improve its appearance.
(a) The Smile makeover - CREATING A BEAUTIFUL SMILE
As each smile is unique to that person, a beautiful smile should be one that is so suitable to the face and character of that particular patient that it appears to be perfectly natural.
Dr Paula Richardson will design your smile with you before any work is done, taking into consideration face shape, lip line, jaw angle, eye symmetry etc. Using photographs, digital x-rays and imaging techniques she will discuss all the options of treatment available suited to your individual needs.
A beautiful smile is not expensive......................it is priceless!!
Everyone loves a brighter, whiter smile. To achieve this we offer the Zoom Whitening System . This procedure is done in about an hour in the surgery by applying a gel to the teeth and activating this with the Zoom light. All our zoom patients are very pleased with their results.
We also offer a home bleaching technique where trays are made to fit your teeth and you place a gel in them and wear them at night. This takes a lot longer but also gives great results.
For the quickest and best results we recommend Zooming and following this up with a few nights of home whitening – you will need the trays to boost your smile in the future for that special occasion or simply to maintain your lovely smile.
Veneers are bonded to the front of teeth much like false nails and are very strong once bonded. Should you not like the shape or alignment of your teeth, and not wish to have braces (instant orthodontics), or should you wish to close any gaps then whitening will not achieve your goals. You could then consider veneering your teeth.
(d) White fillings/Overlays/Inlays
Like all other aspects of our lives, dental technology is advancing at a rapid rate. Consequently we have wonderful alternatives to the old fashioned silver mercury containing amalgam fillings. The "white" ones (composite resin) we have today have many advantages: besides looking better, they can be repaired where silver ones cannot, they have very good wear resistance and they actually bond to teeth allowing more conservative tooth preparations and strengthening the teeth. Should the cavity be too large for a direct filling we can use laboratory made restorations, commonly known as overlays or inlays.
It will depend on how many teeth are missing, but we can replace them with bridges, implants or dentures.
Bridges require a teeth adjacent to the gap to be crowned.
Implants are a much more reliable option in many cases when many teeth are missing. Good bone density is required in which to place the titanium implants. These then serve as a replacement for the roots of the missing teeth and crowns/bridges are placed on top of them.
Dentures are always an alternative to implants but since they are removable most patients would prefer implants. The latter may not be suitable and then we aim to achieve the best possible fit for dentures and make them look as natural as possible by using the best teeth available.
These can provide an excellent aesthetic result to replace decayed, heavily filled or broken teeth. Since there is no black metal inside, we can eliminate the chance of seeing the ‘black line’ often seen around crowns.
We can use white filling material bonded to teeth very conservatively to fix certain cosmetic concerns – gaps between teeth, chips discolourations etc.
Invisalign ® Orthodontic Treatment
Invisalign® is the invisible way to straighten teeth using a series of custom - made, nearly undetectable aligners. The Invisalign System has many advantages - invisible (even close up people will not know - unless you tell them), comfortable to wear (no train tracks, no wires), and removable (eating, brushing and flossing are no problem).
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