When you visit a cosmetic dentist, you invest in more than just a beautiful smile. Of course, cosmetic dentistry focuses on enhancing the appearance of your teeth, mouth, and smile. However, many treatments that make up cosmetic dentistry go beyond aesthetic concerns to reinforce and restore the health and strength of a person’s teeth, gums, and bite.
Understanding what to expect from a cosmetic dentist can help you make informed decisions about your dental care and achieve the smile you’ve always wanted.
Professional Teeth Whitening
Over time, teeth can become stained or discolored due to a diet high in tooth-staining foods and drinks, tobacco use, genetics, and aging. As a result, teeth whitening, professional or at home, is one of the most popular procedures in cosmetic dentistry.
During a professional whitening treatment, a dentist or oral hygienist applies a (usually hydrogen peroxide-based) whitening agent to the surfaces of a patient’s teeth. This whitening agent, usually a gel, is activated via a chemical reaction or a specialized light, breaking down staining and discoloration. In-office whitening, though pricier and less convenient, typically offers faster and more dramatic results, often lightening teeth by several shades in just one visit. Take-home kits and over-the-counter solutions will gradually whiten teeth, but less emphatically.
Precise Dental Implant Placement
Dental implants may be the most important device in cosmetic dentistry. For tooth loss sufferers, these spectacularly durable marvels replace the look, feel, and function of natural tooth roots. Implants also help maintain facial structure after loss by providing stimulation necessary to fight off jawbone attrition, which often follows tooth loss.
Unlike dentures or bridges, dental implants are small titanium pegs surgically placed into a patient’s jawbone. Once fused permanently with the bone via osseointegration, a dental implant provides a stable foundation for long-term tooth replacements, like porcelain dental crowns.
... and Dental Veneers, Too!
Dental veneers are another common cosmetic procedure designed to improve a person’s smile. Veneers are thin, customized shells, typically made of porcelain or composite resin, that cover the front surface of chipped, cracked, misshapen, gapped, or discolored teeth.
The veneer placement process typically involves removing a small amount of enamel from the affected teeth to increase their coarseness and allow dental cement to adhere more strongly, taking full dental impressions, and then bonding the veneers to the fronts of the affected teeth to restore a natural and aesthetically pleasing look.
Efficient, Top-Quality Cosmetic Dentistry in Randolph, NJ
If you're looking for a Randolph cosmetic dentist to help you assess the array of cosmetic dental treatments and services available to you and determine the pathway to restoring the strength and aesthetic appeal of your bite and smile, contact Dr. Christopher G. Kaplan and the friendly and helpful Randolph Dental Associates team to schedule a consultation!