Get A Smile You’ll Love This Valentine’s Day With Cosmetic Dental Care

Valentine’s Day is approaching, and it’s a perfect time to wear a beautiful smile. As you celebrate love, remember to extend some of it to your gums and teeth. If you are looking to develop a love for your teeth, cosmetic dental care is the way to go. The procedures involved can enhance your confidence by taking care of discolored, chipped, cracked, or misaligned teeth.

Here are the various cosmetic dental options you can consider.

Teeth Whitening

Professional teeth whitening is a quick and highly effective way to achieve pearly white teeth. It adequately removes stubborn stains, giving you a youthful and bright smile just in time for the holidays. Getting a professional to whiten your teeth is more reliable and efficient than using home kits for the following reasons:

• Achieves longer-lasting results
• Safe for sensitive teeth
• Customizable color shade
• There is increased comfort
• It is more effective and quicker to achieve results

The dentist assesses your teeth and advises on whether you’re a suitable candidate. If you are, they will apply a bleaching product to your teeth and light a laser to activate the whitening. In an hour or so, you should have sparkling white teeth!

Dental Veneers

Dental veneers are thin shells made of composite or porcelain that resemble the shape and color of natural teeth. They are cemented on the tooth surface to correct misaligned teeth, worn-out enamel, cracks, spaces, discolorations, and chips. Unlike crowns, veneers are durable and minimally invasive, as they maintain your existing teeth structure.

After the installation, you might feel some roughness in your mouth, usually from excess cement from the veneer, which wears down after a few days of eating and brushing your teeth. The following precautions can help to maintain your veneers, prolonging their lifespan:

• Do not open the packaging using your teeth.
• Do not chew hard objects like fingernails, ice, or pens.
• If you clench or grind your teeth at night, always wear a splint or retainers to sleep. They will help protect your veneers.
• Wear a mouth guard when participating in any sports.
• Try using your back teeth to chew as much as possible, not the front ones.

Dental Bonding

Tooth bonding involves applying a tooth-colored resin to your teeth to conceal any damage. Better yet, it’s more pocket-friendly compared to other dental procedures. Your cosmetic dentist uses a shade guide to pick a color that matches your natural teeth. Your tooth surface is then roughened, and a liquid is applied to bond the composite resin to the tooth. The material is hardened with a UV light and shaped further for a polished look. Aftercare involves brushing and flossing after meals, avoiding dark foods such as tea, tobacco, and coffee to prevent staining, and regularly visiting the dentist for cleanings.

Dental Implants

Dental implants are used to replace the roots of missing teeth. After you are healed, the implant attaches to the jawbone. The dentist then places an artificial tooth, filling in the gap to restore your smile. Implants work like natural teeth to improve your chewing capabilities and overall dental health.

You can consider this surgical cosmetic treatment if you suffer from:

• Cavities
• Cracked teeth
• Bruxism
• Anodontia (absence of some or all teeth)
• Gum disease

Implants provide stability for dentures and help to preserve your jawbone. They don’t require enamel removal, which makes them a good choice. However, not everyone is a suitable candidate for this procedure. For instance, those under the age of 18 years, smokers, people experiencing severe bone loss, extensive tooth decay, and active gum diseases are disqualified. Your dentist will advise you accordingly, depending on your dental problem.

Orthodontics

Orthodontics refers to treatments that seek to address malocclusion or bad bites. They include:

• Retainers: Retainers are usually made from wires, clear plastic, or acrylic to fit over and behind your teeth. They are easily removable and prevent your teeth from reverting to their original position after some time. Following your dentist’s retainer prescription to the dot will have you smiling from ear to ear this Valentine’s Day.
• Braces: Braces are used in orthodontic treatment to correct bad bites that could have been caused by injury, tooth loss, thumb sucking, or genetics. You need to wear braces for two to three years, depending on your teeth condition, to achieve visible results.
• Clear aligners: These inconspicuous plastic shells snap over your teeth, exerting necessary pressure to reposition them gradually. They are ideal for individuals with mild to moderate orthodontic issues, such as gapped, crowded, or crooked teeth.

Gum Contouring

This procedure removes excess gum to reshape the gum line. It is mainly performed on patients with excess gingival display, uneven gum lines, or gum overgrowth, which makes their teeth appear short. During the initial consultation, a periodontist analyzes your cosmetic goals and conducts a dental examination to treat any underlying conditions, such as cavities.

Next, they analyze your gum-to-tooth ratio to determine the amount of tissue to be removed to achieve the perfect balance and symmetry. On the day of the procedure, the professional administers local anesthesia to numb your gums and conducts the procedure in 1 to 2 hours while carefully reshaping your gum tissue for a uniform look.

Here are the benefits of getting a gum contour:

• It helps you achieve a uniform smile
• It makes your teeth proportional
• It makes small teeth appear larger
• Removes excess gum covering your teeth
• It brings symmetry to uneven gum lines

Tooth Reshaping and Contouring

Having cracked or uneven teeth can take a big hit on your confidence. Thanks to this fantastic cosmetic solution—tooth contouring— you no longer have to hide your smile. The cosmetic dentist takes insignificant amounts of enamel from the teeth in case of larger teeth or adds synthetic material to the chipped or cracked tooth to reshape it. The materials used during this process are tooth-colored to maintain a natural smile.

Tooth contouring or enameloplasty is a minimally invasive treatment with a painless recovery compared to others like dental implants. It is also less costly, and patients achieve results faster, unlike veneers and crowns, which you have to wait for to be made in a dental laboratory.

Create Your Dream Smile Using Cosmetic Dental Care

A great smile can boost your self-esteem and leave a lasting impression on others. Not everyone is blessed to naturally possess a perfect smile, but a cosmetic dentist can help you regain it. Understanding the various cosmetic treatments is crucial to making an informed decision on the right one for your oral health and overall aesthetics.

The Eriks Dental Group in Fort Lauderdale has highly trained specialists who take pride in providing safe cosmetic dental care procedures to help you navigate your smile journey before Valentine’s. Ready to transform your smile? Visit our website to book an appointment with any of our specialists, or contact us for further inquiries about our services.