Smile Makeover
There are several ways to accomplish the goal of creating a new smile for you. After your complimentary consultation with Dr. Hawthorne or Dr. Devine, we can determine your individual needs and recommend different treatment options. We will develop a comprehensive treatment plan customized to meet your esthetic goals. This treatment plan may consist of many cosmetic and functionally restorative procedures, potentially including teeth whitening, veneers, crowns, orthodontics, oral surgery, and cosmetic gum re-contouring.
Smile Makeover: What's Involved?
A Smile Makeover involves consideration of your facial appearance, skin tone, hair color, teeth, gum tissue, and lips to develop a customized smile. The resulting improvements are as follows:
Tooth Color:
Replacing aging silver or amalgam fillings with natural, tooth-colored composite restorations and teeth whitening can improve the color of stained teeth. Tooth color and shading are important considerations during the evaluation of and preparation for various procedures, including porcelain veneers and dental implants.
Tooth Alignment:
Crooked, overlapping, or gaps between teeth can be straightened when necessary through orthodontic procedures such as Invisalign and improved with veneers.
Missing teeth:
Replacement of any missing teeth can be accomplished by dental implants, bridges, or partial dentures.
Smile Line:
Uneven teeth can be bonded for improved appearance. Gummy smiles can be re-contoured to help improve the overall look of the smile.
Full face:
The overall shape of your face and jawline can be altered by having certain procedures with an Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon.
Cosmetic dentistry procedures may require maintenance over time. Teeth whitening must be repeated on occasion in order to maintain brightness. Porcelain veneers may chip or break off and need replacement. Permanent bonding may stain and require enhancement or replacement. Dental crowns typically require replacement after 10 to 15 years. Gummy smile improvements may also require enhancement over time.
Smile Makeovers are performed for many reasons and are customized according to your unique considerations. What do you like or not like about your smile or your teeth? At Steiner Dental, we will work closely with you to develop a treatment plan designed to achieve exactly what your goals are for your makeover. Two of the more common considerations in treatment planning incorporate teeth length and form.
A Smile Makeover treatment for shorter teeth may include reshaping and lengthening the front central teeth through veneers. If you have a gummy smile, we might recommend treatment to modify the gum line and lengthen the appearance of the teeth. Teeth lengthening may also impact overall facial appearance. For example, shapely, long, square teeth on a round-faced individual can provide a slimming effect for the face.
A Smile Makeover treatment for discolored, misshapen or missing teeth may include restorative procedures such as teeth whitening, implants, crowns, or veneers. The shade we select for teeth whitening and veneers is carefully evaluated with special consideration given to the tone and color of your face and hair. Esthetic bonding or veneers may improve chipped and worn-out teeth, while dental implants replace missing teeth. All of these procedures help you maintain a youthful appearance.
Invisalign
Invisalign is the best way to transform your smile without interfering with your day-to-day life.
Your Invisalign treatment will consist of a series of aligners that you switch out about every two weeks. Each aligner is individually manufactured with exact calculations to gradually shift your teeth into place. For most patients, their treatment can be completed in less than a year. Since your Invisalign system is custom-made for your teeth and your teeth only, you know you'll end up with a smile that truly fits.
One of the greatest advantages Invisalign has over traditional braces is the fact that they are removable! You can take them out to eat, brush and floss and even for the occasional photograph! The Invisalign aligners are made out of a clear material that is virtually undetectable while being worn. Our patients really enjoy having this option for changing their smile dramatically and permanently!
For more information about Invisalign, see their website at www.Invisalign.com.
Veneers
There's no reason to live with gaps in your teeth or with teeth that are stained, badly shaped or crooked. Today a veneer placed on top of your teeth can correct nature's mistake or the results of an injury and help you have a beautiful smile.
Dental veneers are custom-designed shells of tooth-like ceramic material that, when applied over the surface of a tooth, can cover worn tooth enamel, uneven tooth alignment or spacing and chips or cracks.
Veneers are a cosmetic treatment option that can create a bright, white smile with beautifully aligned, shapely teeth. Even better, the translucent ceramic quality of today's veneers provides a more natural look than what's been available in the past.
You should know that this is an irreversible process, because it's necessary to remove a small amount of enamel from your teeth to accommodate the shell.
We will likely recommend that you avoid some foods and beverages that may stain or discolor your veneers such as coffee, tea or red wine. Sometimes a veneer might chip or fracture. But for many people the results are more than worth it.
Replacing your Old Amalgams
When a new cavity needs filling, the vast majority of patients now choose tooth-colored composite fillings. Many patients also opt for the removal of their amalgam fillings to enhance their cosmetic appearance by ridding their mouths of unsightly silver fillings and replacing them with tooth-colored composite fillings. This simple procedure is an easy way to make a big difference in your smile.
Tooth-colored fillings are a safer and more attractive alternative to older silver amalgam fillings. By precisely matching tooth-colored composite fillings with the natural color of your teeth, a skilled cosmetic dentist is able to provide you with white fillings that are virtually invisible. The removal of amalgam fillings can provide patients with white fillings that provide a more pleasing, silver-free smile.
White fillings are made of composite resin and serve to fill cavities just like silver amalgam fillings. However, white fillings are matched to the color of your teeth and are virtually invisible. Tooth-colored fillings have become more popular over the years. As the availability and bond strength of white fillings has increased, more and more patients are having their cavities filled with beautifully white, tooth-colored fillings.