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Cosmetic Dentistry has become very popular. The most common cosmetic procedure by far is teeth whitening. People feel more attractive and self-confident with a beautiful smile.

How does tooth whitening work? Common for all products and methods is that they apply hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide to your tooth that brightens it up. Even the dentists don’t know exactly how it works but they say it’s safe, doesn’t harm and the only side effect is increased sensitivity which should go away within 24 hours.

The difference lies in the peroxide concentration. The higher the concentration the stronger the bleaching effect. But stronger is not necessarily better because very white teeth look unnatural. That’s one of the reasons why the cheap over-the-counter bleaching sets you can buy in your local drugstore only contain a low concentration of the bleaching ingredient. They are less effective and you have to use them often to see a difference.

It’s by far more effective, therefore, to go to your cosmetic dentist. He has products with much higher peroxide concentration like Britesmile or Zoom and he knows how to use them efficiently to get faster results. You can choose between a custom-made tray for home use or the power bleaching treatment in the praxis. The tray is cheaper and works as well as the power bleaching but you must use the tray for several days for about two hours a day.

The power bleaching is done immediately and results are instant as well. After protecting your gum from the peroxide, the cosmetic dentist puts the bleaching gel onto your teeth. Often laser or ultra violet light is used to increase the power of the gel. After one or two hours you are done and your teeth are several shades whiter.

Don’t get disappointed when your teeth are not getting much whiter. There is no guarantee that it works, especially gray teeth or teeth which got colored by an injury; they are not whitening well. But you can expect good results for yellow teeth or teeth which became stained by smoking, drinking, food or coffee.

How much is it? While the power bleaching can cost up to $1000, the tray is about half the price. Unfortunately, dental cosmetic procedures are not covered by your insurance. But it can get even more expensive. Dentists say that many bleaching patients sooner or later move over to porcelain veneers for longer lasting and perfect white teeth. Dental porcelain veneers are up to $1200. Per tooth. But if you want a smile like a movie star then you won’t look at the price.

Frank Denber
http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/how-to-get-white-teeth-59627.html

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Dental veneers are another fantastic tool used in Cosmetic Dentistry to help create that perfect smile. Unlike crowns which cover the whole tooth, dental veneers are wafer-thin shells of porcelain which are just bonded to the front of your teeth.

Porcelain itself it a fairly brittle material but the bonding process adds additional strength to a veneer leaving you with a beautiful, durable and completely natural looking tooth. Dental veneers take on the appearance of enamel and provide the means for a truly remarkable cosmetic restoration.

Although porcelain has amazing crushing strength it doesn’t react well to twisting so once you have had a tooth or your teeth veneered you need to avoid foods that will require any kind of gnawing or twisting action.

Dental veneers have a variety of uses with veneers being used as an alternative to tooth whitening, braces, crowns and other cosmetic dentistry techniques. Porcelain veneers can be used to disguise discoloured or chipped teeth, close gabs, straighten teeth, assist with realignment and reshape your smile.

Veneers have a distinct advantage over dental crowns in that there is no requirement for the tooth to be ground down prior to the veneer being bonded to the tooth. In addition, veneers tend to be more aesthetically pleasing providing you with an even more natural appearance.

Given the nature of a veneer, in that it is bonded to the front of your tooth, veneers are only of any use for cosmetic restoration of front teeth.

Getting a veneer is so easy and a great alternative for those hate the dentist chair. An initial visit will involve your cosmetic dentist taking an impression of your teeth and you may require some minor contouring work. The second visit will be purely for the veneer to be bonded into place providing you with an instant and fantastic looking result.

With teeth that are too damaged for a veneer you can use a veneer in conjunction with a crown to obtain a perfect finish.

Dental veneers are basically used for aesthetic purposes so are unlikely to be covered by your dental insurance although you might get some level of discount if you have a dental care plan.

As with most cosmetic dentistry veneers do not come cheap with a single porcelain veneer likely to set you back $700 to $1500 although the lower end of the range is more common. There is an alternative which is a composite veneer which comes with a significantly reduced price tag (around $250) but the material has a shorter lifespan and obviously doesn’t provide you with the same quality result.

Terry Ross
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/cosmetic-dentistry-dental-veneers-56418.html

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Dental veneers are thin customized covers put over the front surface of a tooth. The porcelain they’re made of is remarkably like tooth enamel in the way it behaves with light. They are both semi-translucent. They absorb some light and reflect some, so that they have the same sort of pearly shine and a porcelain dental restoration cannot be distinguished from natural teeth.

Veneers are not placed on back teeth. They’re used for front teeth as a quick way to give you a new smile. If you have any small chips on your teeth, or front teeth that are a bit crooked, or gaps between them that show when you smile, porcelain veneers could be an excellent option for you.

Chips

Large chips might need repair work for your dental health, such as a porcelain filling or crown. But a small chip can simply be covered with a porcelain veneer. Your cosmetic dentist would send information and images of the tooth to a dental lab, where a customized veneer would be shaped exactly right to give the chipped tooth a new front surface.

Crookedness

Extreme crowdedness and crookedness would indicate that all the teeth are out of alignment, which would need orthodontic treatment. Misaligned teeth can cause TMD (Temporomandibular Joint Disease), which is a misaligned jaw joint. It has many painful symptoms and needs to be diagnosed and given its own treatment.

But if the crookedness is slight enough it can be covered with one or more porcelain veneers. The teeth would not have to be moved into better alignment. The shiny new porcelain front surface would replace the previous crookedness in your smile.

Gaps

In past years, if a person had gappy teeth, they wore metal braces, but we’re fortunate to live in a world of more choices. If the gaps are not so large as to be throwing your bite out of alignment, they can be treated without moving the teeth. Large gaps, like extreme crowdedness, might need orthodontic work.

However, small gaps are easily and beautifully treated with porcelain veneers. The veneers are placed on teeth each side of the gap, and each veneer is slightly wider than the tooth it covers. Each one extends very slightly across the gap. This is a dramatic and fast way to transform your smile.

Discoloration

Most yellowing and staining can be removed by a tooth whitening procedure. But when a child is given tetracycline while the teeth are developing, that causes deep stains, too deep for a whitening agent to reach. Genetic factors and trauma can also cause deep stains. If you have any such discoloration and tooth whitening agents have not been effective, porcelain veneers are an excellent solution. The veneers would be custom-made to fit exactly over your teeth, replacing the front surfaces and giving you a bright, evenly white smile.

The Procedure

Two visits are needed with two or three weeks in between while the dental lab makes your veneers. In that waiting period, you can have temporary veneers, or not, as you choose.

In the first visit, your cosmetic dentist evaluates, measures, photographs and collects all the information needed for the dental lab to make your veneers. He or she also prepares the teeth surfaces for veneer attachment, by removing a very slight amount of tooth enamel. This makes room for the thin veneers.
In the second visit, the cosmetic dentist attaches the veneers temporarily, so that he can check for fit and comfort. When you are both satisfied, he will bond them permanently to the teeth. They are now part of those teeth and will not fall off. They will need the same regular brushing and flossing that you give your natural teeth.

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It has been over 5 years since I’ve seen my dentist and I know that I have several cavities that need to be taken care of. Also, my teeth are crooked and my front tooth has a chip, plus it is gradually deteriating because I use to eat alot of lemons and oranges. Do I need to see my regular dentist before I can get Cosmetic Dentistry or can a cosmetic dentist take care of my other dental issues at the same time?

Your regular dentist can take care of all the problems you mention, unless you also want braces. Cavities and chips are routine dental matters, braces require an orthodontist. They usually prefer you to have routine dental work done by your regular dentist first. And although some of them will do the other routine work, they tend to charge more for the priveledge. So just start with your regular dentist and go from there.

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I am getting porcelain veneers and am getting temporary veneers on before. I have to keep these temporary ones on for a month. Is this a normal time frame? It seems very long.

It seems a bit long, usually about a week- 10 days or so

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I’d like to know the approximate cost of getting veneers on my front two teeth. Anyone who has had this done before would really help me out. Also, do you like them if you’ve had it done? Thanks a lot. Actually, my front two teeth are misalligned (one to the front, one two the back) I know that this can be a quick, easy way to fix minor imperfections such as this. I am not a huge fan of hard foods, and I really do think it is needed because of the major lack of self esteem it gives me. I am willing to pay out of pocket, the cheaper the better. If there are other options, please list them.

Well, it depends on where you go to have your veneers placed. They can cost as much as a crown which can run from $650 to $1000 a tooth. You need to be careful when you have veneers done because they are fabricated from porcelain which is a fragile material and chips and fracture easily. First I would check around for prices since it is a cosmetic procedure most insurance companies will not pay for this service. Second I would decide is this really necessary.

They aren’t meant for people who like to eat a lot of hard foods such as ice cubes, carrots, corn on the cob(I know corn isn’t hard)apples, sugar daddy’s(they are infamous for pulling veneers and crowns right off the tooth)! All of this foods you use your front teeth to bite off with. I’m a Dental Hygienist/Assistant and I have seen people throw good money away on veneers just because they don’t like that their front teeth don’t look pearly white anymore.They come back in a year or so and have a crack in the veneer.

Once you have them you will always have to have them. They shave your natural tooth down just slightly but after the veneer is cemented on the tooth it will never look the same as it did prior. I would seriously think about having this done. If you have a couple grand to blow then go for it. Other wise it’s only cosmetic and doesn’t improve the strength of the tooth.

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Laser removal allows cosmetic retreatment without additional tooth removal.

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Teeth are those little seemingly insignificant creations that, on the face of it, don’t appear that important until you loose them! Luckily for you and the innovations in cosmetic dentistry, if you’ve learnt your lesson the hard way, there are still lots of things you can do to replace lost teeth and protect those teeth that you still have left.

If you have failed in your dental care routine, lost teeth due to health issues or had an accident that has left you somewhat lacking in the tooth department then checking out cosmetic dentistry options is the right way to go.

There are several procedures available for replacing missing teeth not all of which are suitable for every patient so you need to get checked out by a good cosmetic dentist.

Dentures can be used to replace any number of missing teeth from one to a complete upper and lower jaw. Dentures are generally the cheapest option and the most likely cosmetic dentistry choice if you are seeking dental insurance support for your dental reconstruction.

If you are looking for a more natural result from your cosmetic dentistry then a dental bridge might be an answer. A dental bridge can be used to replace one or more teeth (but not really an option for a significant number of teeth) and is effectively a false tooth or teeth held between two crowns or a cheaper option is to attach a wire to the back of adjoining teeth to fix the false tooth in place (the cheaper alternative is only a viable solution for front teeth).

Another alternative open to you is a dental implant (tooth implant) which is unlikely to be covered under your dental insurance but a procedure in cosmetic dentistry that leaves you with a completely natural looking smile. A dental implant is a more invasive cosmetic dentistry procedure that involves a pin being fixed into the jaw (requires good bone structure). Once the pin is securely in place a dental crown is used (as a cap) to replace your missing tooth or teeth. Dental implants can be used for a complete dental reconstruction but is extremely costly.

If you are just missing the top half of your tooth then a dental crown is a good way to go and for a even more natural look use the latest innovations in Cosmetic Dentistry by combining a dental crown with a dental veneer.

Whatever method you choose make sure you use a recommended cosmetic dentist with the relevant expertise. A dentist that performs cosmetic dentistry procedures (for your particular problem) in volume and is a recognised and respected dentist in his field of cosmetic dentistry is far more likely to give you the best result at the best possible price.

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I am getting my braces off and because of some constraints I NEED to get my braces off on a certain date. The ortho told me that the teeth could move in the 2-week time window where I get the braces off and get my new retainer. Do teeth really relapse THAT quickly?

If they do move then your retainers will make them back to the way they were they take the impressions right when you get them off. You’ll be fine! congrats on your new smile!

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