Seven out of ten people in the United States are unhappy with the appearance of their teeth, but that doesn’t mean you have to be. Many people may not like their teeth due to the color, the shape, or because their teeth are damaged in some way. If this is the case with your teeth, then all you need is a bit of cosmetic dentistry to fix the problem.
Cosmetic dentistry can give you a confident, bright smile in no time. You can choose teeth whitening, dental contouring, and many other options to improve your smile. But what should you expect from cosmetic dentistry procedures, and how can you know what procedure is right for you?
What You Need To Know About Cosmetic Dentistry Teeth Whitening
Discolored teeth are one of the most common dental problems in the world. Teeth often become discolored after being exposed to certain foods or drinks. For example, if you often drink coffee in the morning or throughout the day, you will notice that your tooth enamel will eventually become yellow or brown.
Coffee has small grains that stick to your tooth enamel and discolor it. This is especially true if you don’t brush your teeth soon after drinking coffee. Tooth discoloration can also happen when you drink red wine or other pigmented drinks.
This problem can also occur if you don’t brush your teeth very often and develop tooth decay as a result. Whatever the case, once your teeth are discolored, it can be tough to fix this problem by ordinary means. You can try brushing your teeth with whitening toothpaste, but the toothpaste will only be able to do so much.
The Details
Some people also try whitening their teeth at home by brushing them with baking soda. While this can help to some extent, it will also damage your tooth enamel, especially if you do it multiple times. For that reason, it is recommended that you go to a professional to get your teeth whitened.
Besides being the safer option, professional teeth whitening will give you far better results than any DIY method. This is because your dentist will use a special gel made out of hydrogen peroxide. This hydrogen peroxide is very concentrated and, as a result, will be much more powerful compared to any hydrogen peroxide in toothpaste.
The teeth whitening procedure is speedy and simple as well. All you need to do is sit back and relax as the dentist applies the gel, and the gel does its work. The entire procedure should only take 30 minutes or so.
After the time passes, your dentist will rinse off the whitening gel, and you will find that your teeth will be much whiter than ever before. To keep your teeth white, you can contact your cosmetic dentist to get your teeth professionally whitened once every year.
All About Dental Contouring
If you are unhappy with the shape of your teeth, your Little Rock dentist can help with dental contouring. What is dental contouring, you might ask? It is nothing more than a method to reshape slight imperfections in the shape of your teeth.
This procedure is also known as teeth shaping. For example, suppose that your teeth are a bit too long and you don’t like how they look. Dental contouring gently sands away the ends of your teeth to shorten them and generally involves removing some amount of enamel from your teeth.
Keep in mind that dental contouring can only fix minor imperfections. Removing too much tooth enamel would be unhealthy for your teeth. If you remove too much at one time, your teeth will become sensitive as a result. The goal of cosmetic dentistry, of course, is not to worsen your dental health but to improve the appearance of your smile.
Dental contouring is also extremely helpful for those with teeth that are ridged on the ends. The ends of your teeth may be ridged naturally, or you may have slightly chipped some of your teeth in the past. Whatever the case, dental contouring can smooth out the ends of your teeth in a short amount of time.
To accomplish this, your dentist uses a unique tool to sand down the surface of your tooth. Once your dentist finishes sanding your teeth, they polish the surface of your enamel. This procedure improves the appearance of your teeth, not just regarding their shape but also their luster.
What You Need to Know
Keep in mind that the procedure should not be painful either. You may feel some discomfort or pressure from the sanding tool, but you should not feel any pain. Another benefit of dental contouring is that it is quite inexpensive compared to most other cosmetic dentistry procedures.
Other procedures might cost you thousands of dollars, while dental contouring should only cost you a few hundred. So, if you’re unhappy with the shape of your teeth, all you need to do is go to your local dentist and ask for your teeth to be contoured. The procedure should not take very long.
However, the exact length will depend on how many teeth you want to have contoured. If you only want a few teeth shaped, the procedure will likely take less than an hour. However, if you wish to have several teeth shaped at once, you may need to stay in the dentist’s office longer.
Whatever the case, by the end of the procedure, your teeth should look better than ever. Just be sure not to get your teeth contoured too often. Otherwise, you might end up damaging your tooth enamel.
Botox
Can dentists give Botox, you might ask? The simple answer is yes, although not all dentists offer Botox treatments. Even so, you might wonder why you would opt for Botox when visiting your local cosmetic dentistry office.
The answer has to do with the fact that Botox can greatly improve the appearance of your smile and your mouth in general. For example, a lip flip is a popular procedure that more people are getting done in their dentist’s office. A lip flip is a procedure that involves making your lips look plumper and poutier without the use of lip fillers.
Many people find that a lip flip offers comparable results as lip fillers but is much more natural in appearance. If you’re wondering where Botox is injected for a lip flip, your dentist generally injects it around the borders of your top and bottom lip, known as the vermillion border. This technique allows the muscle to relax and your lips to appear more plump. Botox works by paralyzing and relaxing whatever muscles it is injected into. Remember that Botox will not paralyze your entire mouth if you decide to get a lip flip. Instead, it will gently relax the affected muscles and allow your lips to appear fuller while maintaining function to drink and eat normally.
Gummy Smiles
More than that, Botox can fix the shape of your smile if you are unhappy with it. For example, suppose you have what you consider a gummy smile, the kind of smile when a considerable amount of your gums shows above your teeth.
Sometimes this happens if your upper jawbone is unusually long or because your upper lip retracts too far from your mouth when you smile. Whatever the case, injecting Botox into your upper lip can help. When you smile, Botox will keep your upper lip from retracting too far away from your gums.
As a result, you will no longer have a gummy smile. Instead, your upper lip will remain relaxed and closer to the line of your teeth. So, if you’re unhappy with the shape of your smile or lips, Botox may be the answer.
All About Cosmetic Dentistry
Cosmetic dentistry is a fantastic way to improve the appearance of your smile if you are unhappy with it in any way. If your teeth are stained, all you need to do is go in for a teeth whitening appointment. You can try dental contouring if your teeth are too long or misshapen.
If you want to change the shape of your smile or lips, Botox can help. To learn more about cosmetic dentistry services, click here.
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