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A smile can be the most eye-catching feature of your
face. Even a subtle change can make a big difference
in the way you look and feel. New techniques like bleaching,
bonding, enamel
shaping, veneers, and
white fillings allow us to
create a beautiful smile with, at times, only minimal
changes to existing teeth. |
| Bleaching (Whitening)
is a very popular procedure in cosmetic dentistry. It
is a relatively easy and effective technique for obtaining
a dazzling, whiter smile, at home, in a matter of days. |
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Bonding is a procedure
where tooth-colored composite resin material is placed
to "fill in the blanks." One of the most frequent
uses of the bonding technique is to fill in a gap between
front teeth. |
| Enamel Shaping (Contouring)
is the process of shaping natural teeth to improve their
appearance. Shaping can be used to correct minor cases
of crowded or overlapping teeth, smooth rough edges,
or make small adjustments to the shape of a tooth. |
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Veneers are laboratory
fabricated, porcelain facings that are bonded to the
front surfaces of teeth to whiten teeth, close spaces,
straighten teeth, or repair chipped or worn teeth. The
veneers are only about 1 mm thick (the thickness of
a fingernail). That same thickness is "shaved"
off the natural tooth surface so when the veneer is
bonded to the tooth, the tooth doesn't feel or look
"thicker". |
| Caps (Crowns) are
rarely used for cosmetic correction any more, since
the advent of veneers, but in some cases a crown may
be necessary for a particular tooth. A tooth with a
bad fracture or a large
filling that is breaking
down, or has decay around it, may be a candidate for
a crown instead of a veneer. This patient has veneers
on top, but one of the front teeth had a large filling
and had to be crowned. |
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White fillings
replace silver or gold fillings with a more natural
looking tooth-colored material. Since teeth are translucent,
dark fillings cause the whole tooth to appear darker
when viewed from the side. Replacing older dark fillings
with white fillings will keep your smile glowing!
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