Whether you are getting ready for school pictures, for a wedding, or for a 20-year high school reunion, it is important to keep your teeth picture perfect at all times! Many people are ashamed of their teeth, but you certainly don’t have to be.

When it comes to whitening your teeth, anyone can buy over-the-counter whitening products that improve the flat surface of the tooth, but for more thorough results there are home whitening kits and laser bleaching. With whitening kits, patients wear custom-made trays filled with a carbamide peroxide gel every night for ten to fourteen days.

Dentists handle tooth sensitivity by adjusting the concentration of the gel solution. Results can be touched up when needed, usually every six to eight months, or before special events.

When you bleach teeth, old work may look dark. However, bleaching won’t harm veneers or crowns but it won’t bleach bonding either.

When scheduling cosmetic dentistry work, bleach first so you can match the work to the new color. Laser bleaching is an in-office procedure where different concentration of laser light helps activate the brushed-on bleaching solution.

The light is applied in a cycle lasting from one to two hours, and teeth can lighten up to ten shades. Touch-ups are done with your own custom at-home bleaching trays.

Some people feel they have short, stubby teeth, and that there is nothing they can do about it. In reality, their gums simply may have overgrown.

Gum contouring reveals long, beautiful teeth. Although tooth contouring is used to file minor chips and to shape, most contouring takes place with the soft tissues.

Done under local anesthetic, gum contouring may be performed with electrosurgery, blades or soft-tissue laser. Prior to putting on veneers or crowns, some dentists prefer to balance the symmetry of the mouth or solve a “gummy smile” through gum contouring.

Done in-office under local anesthetic, healing takes about two to four weeks. More extensive cases may be referred to a periodontist (gum specialist).

Bonding is the term for applying a soft composite material directly to your teeth and hardening it with light. This can be used for white fillings or on front teeth, where dentists usually use a combination of colors to achieve the natural creamy color along the gum line, lighter color mid-tooth, and translucence on the edge.

It is great for small chips and gaps. It’s also an opportunity to not invest a lot and still have a nice smile.

Bonding is best for children or teens, emergency applications, or someone with gum disease who can’t invest long-term in the mouth. It costs less than veneers and crowns but it also doesn’t last as long (five to ten years) and will stain.

A lot depends on the personal hygiene and habits of the patient. Smokers, coffee, and tea drinkers may want to cut down.

Usually performed under local anesthetic, the procedure can take anywhere from an hour for a chipped tooth to four hours for more teeth. Unlike bonding, porcelain veneers and crowns are created in a lab from molds of your teeth.

They won’t stain, and last ten to fifteen years. Patients should be adults in good health and free from gum disease.

These procedures works best for gaps, mildly crooked teeth, and replacing old dentistry (discoloration, bonding, worn crowns and veneers). Crowns cover the entire tooth while veneers cover the front only.

Keep in mind old crowns can only be replaced by new crowns. Porcelain-only crowns are revolutionizing dentistry, replacing the popular porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns that may leave a dark line, which becomes visible as gums recede.

As well, your practitioner may opt for a crown instead of a veneer to stabilize the bite. Overall, the procedure consists of a series of steps, starting with an initial consultation to analyze the smile and determine treatment.

Too often, the practitioner treats too few teeth because they only see the front when they smile. But when you talk, you can see where the good dentistry stops and the bad begins.

Once the overall plan is established, you’ll need local anesthetic while the teeth are reshaped, impressions taken, and you are fitted with temporaries. At the next appointment, also under anesthetic, you will try on the teeth and critique the shape and color.

Finally, a couple days later you are fitted with your polished veneers. Altogether, the treatment can be 10 to 15 hours and is spread over several weeks.

Your teeth don’t have to embarrass you, and you certainly don’t have to keep your lips together when you smile. Your teeth can be camera ready for years to come if you take some simple cosmetic steps!

About the Author

Ronald Pedactor is a former dental assistant and has authored hundreds of articles relating to oral health. He worked for a TMJ dentist in South Carolina before becoming a guest dental lecturer for the past 15 years.

Contact Info: Ronald Pedactor RonaldPedactor09@gmail.com http://www.drcmohler.com