Breeze Through the Holidays with a Winning Smile
If you were considering undergoing cosmetic dentistry to improve your smile, now’s the time to make your move. The holidays are coming up, and you want to shine. The treatments are numerous and range from the subtle to the obvious – from teeth whitening to a brand new smile that will make your friends and family do double-takes. Pricing for different procedures starts around $300 and stretches into the thousands of dollars. But, dental insurance rarely covers purely cosmetic procedures.
Teeth Whitening. At the least expensive end is at-home whitening. Using custom-fit dental trays and bleaching gel for an hour or less a day for a couple weeks results in a whiter smile. However, the procedure isn’t permanent. Tobacco, red wine, coffee, cola, and other consumables will darken teeth over time. A receptionist at Dr. Manny Chopra’s Hyde Park Center for Dental Health says the effects of at-home whitening can last for years, with a touch up recommended about once a year.
In-office whitening, which can cost $600–$900, is available at some dentist offices. The procedure requires two to two and a half hours in one office visit and is sometimes supplemented with at-home systems. The advantage of in-office whitening is the immediate effect.
Improving the appearance of individual teeth. Contouring, or the simple reshaping of teeth, can dramatically improve a smile. It’s usually painless and can be paired with bonding if necessary. Bonding is chemically adhering a composite resin to a tooth’s surface. It is a painless procedure most commonly used to improve stained, chipped, or broken teeth or to fill gaps between teeth.
Another option to filling spaces in your smile is having veneers fit to individual teeth. Veneers are porcelain shells designed to cover the front of teeth. Veneers can also repair stained, chipped, or worn teeth and can improve shaping and straightness. You and your dentist can decide together which procedure – bonding or veneers – is more appropriate for you. Bonding is expected to last five to ten years, and you can plan on veneers lasting about ten years.
When a tooth is so worn that its natural structure will not support a filling, your dentist may discuss with you the application of crowns, inlays or onlays of porcelain or ceramic. A procedure involving either a crown or an inlay/onlay requires two visits. During the initial visit, the tooth is prepared, a mold is taken, and a temporary fitting is placed. Then the mold is sent to a lab where the restoration is custom made. During a follow-up visit, about two weeks after the first, the dentist removes the temporary fitting and places the new, custom-fit restoration. A dental assistant at Dr. Marvin Kaplan’s office in Clifton explains that a crown offers more support to a tooth that needs it; it’s a cap that holds the tooth together. Rather than capping a tooth, an inlay/onlay sits in or on it, thereby conserving more of the natural tooth. She says that crowns and inlays/onlays last 10, 15, 20 years or more depending on a patient’s oral hygiene.
Filling gaps. To replace missing teeth, a dental professional may suggest a bridge. A bridge is a series of crowns, one for each missing tooth (three or more), and is usually secured to adjacent teeth, which are also crowned. Only a dental professional can remove bridges.
Sometimes a bridge is attached to a dental implant. Implants, as described by Dr. Andrew Harris with the Fountain Square Cosmetic Dental Group, are titanium screws placed below the gums to replace a tooth’s root. Implants can serve as a base for crowns, bridges, or dentures.
Doing your homework and trusting your instincts. Of course there are more cosmetic dental treatments, the results of which are not immediate, including dental surgery and braces. You and your dentist should talk over what is necessary and what you feel comfortable with and can afford. Perusing the website of the American Dental Association (www.ADA.org) can inform your decision too.
Laura K. didn’t even consider having someone other than her regular dentist place veneers on two of her teeth. She regrets not meeting with other dental professionals before settling. A month after receiving the veneers, one popped off while she was eating, “forcing me to hustle to an emergency dentist for a quick fix, which he told me was only meant to last long enough for me to get back to my dentist,” the 38-year-old relates. However, due to either laziness or inexperience, the original dentist refused to fool with the temporarily adhered veneer, and it came off after a few months and required another emergency visit. Laura learned her lesson and saw a dentist, who reapplied the veneer using the correct adhesive. Her veneers have been problem-free for three years now, yet she did endure a painful, expensive, disruptive process to reach her happy ending.
If a dental professional recommends a procedure you’re not comfortable with, make sure to get another opinion. A 36-year-old local woman with an end-on-end bite, which chipped her top teeth and wore away those on bottom, visited an orthodontist who recommended jaw surgery. She wasn’t keen on the idea so sought a second opinion. After taking X-rays, the second doctor assured her that braces could repair her bite, no surgery required. She wore braces for 21 months, and since their removal wears a retainer at night. “The main reason I wore braces was to save my teeth, but the procedure improved my smile too. Thank goodness I didn’t go through the pain and recovery, not to mention the expense, of jaw surgery,” she says.
Most dental offices offer free initial consultations. You may be surprised at how drastically a simple procedure can improve your smile. At this time of year, make an appointment as a gift to yourself. A beautiful smile offers many happy returns.
