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Keeping Your Teeth White Between Dental Visits

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Keeping Your Teeth White Between Dental Visits

Taking care of your teeth might seem mundane, but without enough attention, those pearly whites of yours can easily turn tinged and stained. Sure, having your teeth cleaned every few months at your dentist's office is a great start to maintaining a beautiful smile, but it isn't enough to keep each tooth pearly white on an ongoing basis. Now, don't get me wrong – you don't have to spend an arm and a leg on professional maintenance in order to get the results you want. You can use a variety of methods at home, like creating your own whitening mouthwash, that can help to keep you teeth white between dentist visits. Hopefully, the tips and techniques offered on this blog is enough to get you the results that you're after.

3 Cosmetic Dental Services To Change The Look Of Your Teeth

3 March 2016
 Categories: Dentist, Blog

If you have aesthetic issues with your teeth, there are cosmetic dental services available to correct the imperfections. Here are a few of them:

Veneers

Dental veneers can be used to correct many different cosmetic dental problems. The veneers, which are actually thinly sliced, tooth-shaped pieces of resin or dental ceramic, can be bonded to the front surface of the teeth to alter their appearance.

Veneers can be used to correct chips, cracks, discoloration, gaps and even irregular tooth shapes. They conceal or hide the imperfections of the teeth.

Veneers are able to correct certain imperfections that other cosmetic dental applications cannot. For instance, peroxide-based bleaching applications do not whiten discoloration that is caused by a birth defect, dental trauma or medication. These types of darkening are considered permanent. Nevertheless, dental veneers can make teeth with permanent discoloration look perfectly white. Only the actual shade of the veneers is visible. The dark color of the tooth is hidden.

Porcelain veneers may have to be applied during two separate dental appointments. During the first appointment, an impression of the teeth is made. The dental impression is used to determine the precise shape and size of the veneers. After the mold is obtained, it is sent to a dental laboratory to use as a guide for the fabrication of the veneers. Once the veneers are received from the dental laboratory, they can be placed during the second dental appointment. In some instances, if a dental office has CAD /CAM technology available, the porcelain veneers can be installed during a single visit. The dentist obtains digital images of the patient's mouth, and a computerized milling machine constructs the veneers. 

Dental Bonding

Composite bonding material can be used to correct dental cracks, chips or even gaps. The bonding material, which is usually made of composite resin, can often be applied during one dental visit. The material is molded to cover the imperfection of the tooth and then allowed to harden into place.

Teeth Whitening

If teeth have been discolored due to age, pigments from food or drinks, tobacco usage or other types of staining, they can often be lightened using an in-office teeth-whitening application. During a teeth-whitening session, the cosmetic dentist applies peroxide-based gel to the patient's teeth. Then, a special light is employed to intensify the lightening of the gel. Usually, a noticeable difference can be seen after a single appointment. However, to achieve the lightest shade possible, a few whitening sessions may be needed, especially if the staining is deep.

If you would like to change the look of your teeth, schedule an appointment with a cosmetic dentist service in your area.