What does Cosmetic Dentistry entail?

If your teeth are discolored, chipped, worn, broken, misshapen, misaligned, or if they have unsightly gaps between them, cosmetic dentistry could do wonders for your overall appearance. Cosmetic surgical procedures for the face and the body have become much more popular over the past decade as patients race to get tummy tucks and rhinoplasties, but often people overlook the importance of their smile when they’re doing a makeover. Cosmetic dentistry entails a number of procedures that are relatively simple, but that can have a pronounced effect on a person’s appearance. A “smile makeover” is one of the most noticeable changes that you can make to your overall appearance and often, cosmetic dental procedures can be completed relatively quickly and affordably.

When you visit us the first time at Pacific Northwest Prosthodontics, we’ll do an evaluation of your smile and work with you to develop a treatment plan. If you have a specific issue that you’d like to address as part of your makeover, we can discuss possible treatment options during this initial consultation. Each of the various cosmetic dentistry procedures are different from the others in terms of what’s involved and how much the treatment costs. Cosmetic dental procedures have been developed to accomplish different aesthetic goals, but if you’re hoping to improve the appearance of your smile, cosmetic dentistry is worth consideration. Below is a list of some of the most popular cosmetic dentistry procedures that we do for patients on a regular basis:

Dental Veneers

Dental veneers are an important cosmetic treatment that we regularly use at the Pacific Northwest Prosthodontics clinic to give patients a near perfect-looking smile. In fact, dental veneers provide a look of perfection that’s hard to match using any other procedure. Veneers are extremely thin, but durable custom-made tooth coverings that are made of porcelain or resin. They’re used to change the color, shape, or size of the teeth to create a nearly perfect smile. Often, patients call them “Hollywood Teeth” because celebrities will use veneers to cover up their dental issues and create a perfect smile for the big screen. If you want your teeth to look good enough for the front page of a magazine or a major motion picture, dental veneers are an excellent choice!

Veneers are customized for each patient to cover the front surface of the teeth. The dentist begins by removing about half a millimeter of the enamel from the tooth’s outer surface. Then, the veneers are cemented onto the front of the teeth.

Teeth Whitening

Teeth whitening has become extremely popular because it’s an affordable, simple way to dramatically improve the appearance of your smile. Professional whitening at Pacific Northwest Prosthodontics is performed using special bleaching products.

Dental Implants

Dental implants have changed the lives of many of our patients who otherwise would’ve had no other option but to get dentures to correct their dental problems. During the dental implant procedure, titanium “roots” are inserted into the bone sockets of missing teeth to create a solid foundation which can be used to attach a prosthetic device into the mouth. This prosthetic looks and behaves like real teeth, and it can be used to replace all of the teeth in the mouth if all of the teeth are missing. It can also be customized to fit around existing healthy teeth. This is a cosmetic procedure that also allows patients the ability to continue functioning as they always have in their daily lives. Dr. Shumway a Spokane Valley dentist adds that implants are able to last a life time if patients take proper care of the implant.

Crowns

A dental crown is used to fill in a gap in the teeth. It’s used to replace an entire tooth or set of teeth above the gumline. At Pacific Northwest Prosthodontics dental crowns are made to look just like the patient’s natural teeth. The crowns are used to keep weak teeth from breaking or to hold cracked teeth together. Crowns can be used to cover up misshapen or very discolored teeth to restore the appearance of the mouth.

Dental Bonding

Dental bonding is a durable plastic substance that’s applied to the outer surface of a tooth and then hardened using ultraviolet or laser light. The light activates the bonding material, causing it to adhere tightly to the tooth. The dentist can then shape the bonding material and polish it to repair a decayed, cracked, chipped, or misshapen teeth. And this same material can also be used to replace silver or amalgam fillings. The dental bonding procedure is quick and easy.

Onlays and Inlays

Inlays and outlays are customized filling tools that are made in a laboratory to be bonded in place by the dentist. We use inlays to fill cavities that involve one or more of the points of the teeth. We use inlays to fill in the center of teeth. Inlays and onlays allow us to keep as much of the patient’s healthy teeth as possible.

Other Common Cosmetic Procedures

In addition to the procedures above, we also offer our patients braces to align teeth, dentures to replace missing teeth, and bridges that are made of crowns to fill in gaps between teeth.

At Pacific Northwest Prosthodontics, we use high-tech tools and materials to accomplish incredible feats in cosmetic dentistry! The goal of cosmetic dentistry procedures is always to create a more pleasing appearance to the smile so that patients feel more beautiful and more confident in their daily lives. While we work hard to create a more attractive appearance, cosmetic procedures are also designed to promote a higher level of overall health in the mouth and throughout the body. Patients who would like to make positive aesthetic changes that will have a dramatic impact on their appearance should consider the virtues of cosmetic dentistry!