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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
whitening, bonding,
enamel shaping, veneers,
and white fillings allow
us to create a beautiful smile with, at times, only
minimal changes to existing teeth. |
| Teeth 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". |
| Crowns (Caps) 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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