All Your Tooth Replacement Options Explained
Are you missing a tooth — or two or more? Replacing lost teeth is more than a cosmetic issue. Here’s why you need to fill the gap and an overview of all your choices as soon as possible.
4 Popular Cosmetic Dentistry Treatments
If you’re unhappy with your smile, don’t worry—you’re not doomed. You can actually do quite a bit to transform your smile and it’s often easier than you expect. The field of cosmetic dentistry has progressed so much in recent years that treatments are more effective than ever.
Whether your teeth are a dull color, missing, crooked, or uneven, cosmetic dentistry can help. In this post, our providers at Dental Art of South Bay explain more about four of the most popular cosmetic dentistry treatments.
Tooth whitening
Teeth whitening is one of the treatments that has made the most progress in recent years. You have several options available for whitening your teeth.
One of the easiest is teeth whitening that you do at home. You get trays to wear at home with a special bleaching solution. You can generally achieve results that whiten your teeth by more than three shades over two weeks, with optimal results achieved after four weeks.
The other option is in-office teeth whitening. First, you get your teeth professionally cleaned to remove plaque and tartar. Then, a bleaching agent is applied that instantly whitens your teeth.
Dental veneers
If you’ve ever wondered about how people get a dazzling “Hollywood” smile, the answer is dental veneers. Veneers cover your teeth, fixing minor flaws and imperfections. They can cover crooked teeth, cracked teeth, and damaged enamel, as well as fix spaces between your teeth.
Veneers can also whiten your teeth far beyond what teeth whitening can do. You can whiten your teeth to any shade you want with veneers, while you’re limited to only about three shades lighter with whitening.
Invisalign®
Invisalign® is a system of clear plastic aligners that can straighten your teeth. If you’ve always wanted braces but felt they were only for kids, you can actually still fix your teeth as an adult. Since the system uses clear aligners that are removable, they are not as disruptive to your life as you’d expect.
You get a consultation with your dentist, who takes a model of your teeth and shows you what kind of results you can expect. Most people wear Invisalign for about 12 months on average. You get custom trays that you’ll swap out every two weeks. At the end of your time wearing Invisalign, you may have to wear a retainer to maintain your results.
Dental implants
Dental implants are one of the most exciting developments in cosmetic dentistry. They permanently replace teeth lost due to accidents, disease, or tooth decay.
A dental implant uses tiny titanium screws implanted into your jaw to replace a tooth. The screws fuse with your jawbone, forming a replacement for your tooth’s roots. Then, a crown is placed on top to finish the implant. The final result is completely indistinguishable from a natural tooth. It’s stable and secure and is usually permanent.
If you are unhappy with your teeth, you can do something about it. Call the providers at Dental Art of South Bay today for a consultation.
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