With summer hopefully nearly here, it’s a time when many of us take action to try to look our best. One of the first things people notice is your smile. Healthy and attractive teeth never go out of style and the latest cosmetic dentistry techniques can help you achieve a beautiful new look.
Dr. Larry Leslie and Dr. Tom Greene can offer advice on the best way to improve the appearance of your teeth when you visit us here at Tsawwassen Place Dental. Cosmetic dentistry can be used to create subtle or more noticeable changes to the appearance of your teeth, depending on your aims and desires. One thing that often concerns people is whether cosmetic dentistry will be effective and this is where digital technology can be extremely useful. Our dentists can create virtual images of your new smile using Smile-Vision, computer enhanced digital photography.
Where to Start When Planning Your New Smile
If you are interested in investigating ways to improve the appearance of your smile, it’s best to begin by booking a consultation with Dr. Leslie or with Dr. Greene. Although we want you to have an attractive smile, our primary concern is to make sure it’s healthy. An initial exam will determine if you have any dental problems that require treatment. Making sure your mouth is healthy will ensure any subsequent cosmetic dental work lasts longer and is more effective. Our dentist will also want to spend some time just talking with you to discover how we can help you, and if you are interested, we can take digital photographs to help you visualise your new smile. Armed with all this information, we can discuss which treatments might be most useful for you to consider.
Deciding Which Treatments to Have
Treatments that might be useful include dental bonding, teeth whitening, porcelain veneers, white fillings and inlays and onlays. Dental bonding is a procedure that can mend damaged teeth or reshape teeth that may be worn down or too small. Teeth whitening probably requires very little introduction and is a popular treatment that is included in many smile makeovers. We can provide in-office whitening treatments as well as home whitening kits. Porcelain veneers can be very useful in covering up teeth that are internally stained and which cannot be whitened, that are slightly out of line, or are a less than perfect shape or size. White or tooth coloured fillings can be used to replace aging and stained white fillings or older style amalgam fillings, while an inlay or onlay will beautifully and nearly invisibly repair a larger cavity in a back tooth.
Sometimes Less Is More
If your teeth are in pretty good shape, you could require relatively little treatment to help make them look more beautiful. It could be that all is needed is perhaps a good professional dental cleaning followed by a tooth whitening treatment to brighten them up. Replacing older and stained fillings can be useful while protecting your dental health. These treatments are a quick and affordable way to help your smile sparkle.
When to Consider a More Comprehensive Smile Makeover
If you have always desired a Hollywood style smile, then it’s likely you will need a bit more treatment. Possible treatments may include multiple porcelain veneers, and we can use crowns and bridges to restore or replace any badly damaged teeth, or teeth that are missing completely. Teeth that are significantly misaligned may benefit from Invisalign orthodontic treatment, a nearly invisible adult oriented brace.
