Ever shied away from being part of family photos? Instinctively covered your mouth when meeting someone new? Do you generally feel self-conscious about the look of your teeth? Cosmetic dentistry could be right for you. For many, our smile is directly linked to our confidence. Improve one and you’ll boost the other. Here’s a look at the most common cosmetic dental procedures and which problems they’re designed to treat.
Teeth Whitening
Food, drinks, medication and habits like smoking can stain your teeth over time. With teeth whitening it’s possible to restore your natural tooth color or even go several shades whiter than your original tone. Once plaque, tartar and other debris have been removed from the surface of each tooth, a bleaching agent is applied to lighten your teeth.
Dental Veneers
Manufactured from medical-grade ceramic or porcelain, dental veneers provide a quick and easy solution to chipped, cracked or heavily stained teeth. Veneers can even be used to hide misaligned or crooked teeth as well as filling in unwanted gaps. Dental veneers are simply applied to the surface of each tooth using a special dental adhesive for an immediate restoration of your smile.
Composite Bonding
A cost effective solution for repairing decayed or damaged teeth is to drill or grind down the problem area and then fill and sculpt the space with tooth-colored plastic or resins. Composite bonding is also an excellent solution for reshaping worn down edges. The dental bond is then hardened with a high-intensity light.
Dental Crowns or Caps
Crowns fit over your teeth to fill in cracks or chips or if part of a tooth is missing entirely. Manufactured off-site, crowns are applied with dental cement adhesive.
Inlays/Onlays
Similar to a crown but slightly different, inlays/onlays are essentially fillings that are manufactured off-site and then adhered to your tooth to repair a large cavity or similar structural damage. An inlay fits inside a portion of the tooth whereas an onlay is fashioned to cover the entire surface. Onlays are an excellent solution in cases where a tooth does not have sufficient structure to support a traditional filling.
Invisalign
Invisalign is a modern orthodontic treatment that presents a viable alternative to traditional braces. Using a series of individually crafted, plastic trays you can slowly and gently straighten your teeth over time without the embarrassment of having a mouth filled with metal. Invisalign is nearly imperceptible, meaning that nobody has to know!
Dental Implants
A permanent solution for missing teeth, dental implants attach a prosthesis to a titanium post embedded into the jaw bone. Implants are nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding natural teeth and can be cared for in virtually the same fashion, with regular brushing.
Implants are a more popular solution than traditional bridges and dentures and it’s even possible to do a full mouth restoration, either tooth by tooth or by attaching a full set of new teeth to 4 titanium posts. This procedure is called All-on-4.
Cosmetic Dentist Shrewsbury, NJ
For lasting cosmetic procedures and excellent dental care in Monmouth County, New Jersey, visit Ocean Dental at 167 Avenue at the Common, Suite 16, Shrewsbury, NJ 07702, call 732-935-0905 or go to oceandentalnj.com.
