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Using cosmetic dentistry to enhance your smile can have far-reaching consequences. Selecting the right treatments can offer an alternative to cosmetic surgery, rejuvenating your overall appearance and creating a full, natural smile that complements your facial features, gender, and skin tone.
A smile makeover uses one or more cosmetic dentistry procedures to improve the aesthetic appearance of your teeth. Treatments that may be used are dental veneers, teeth whitening, composite bonding, and crowns and bridges. Some more advanced treatments that can be used in smile makeovers include orthodontics and dental implants. It is a process that can subtly improve the appearance of your teeth or create more dramatic changes, depending on your goals.
Most people will be suitable for a smile makeover. Ideally, you must have reasonable dental and overall health. During your initial exam, we will want to ensure you don’t have any signs of dental problems like gum disease or tooth decay, as ensuring your mouth is healthy will help the results last longer. We will discuss what you like or dislike about your smile and which aspects you want to change the most. Our top dentist will also want to know an approximate budget and if there are any time limitations.
Your smile makeover will be custom designed to improve your smile and can help correct some of the following problems.
Problems with stained or discolored teeth are common and can be prematurely aging. In contrast, a healthy white smile can convey a feeling of youthfulness. There are several ways a smile makeover can address problems with tooth discoloration. For example, any aging amalgam or silver-colored dental fillings creating dark areas in your mouth can be replaced with tooth-colored composite resin fillings.
We can use the latest professional teeth whitening treatments to lift deep-seated stains from teeth. Any teeth that will not respond to a normal tooth whitening treatment can be covered with porcelain veneers or crowns or using dental bonding.
If you have teeth that have large fillings and are missing a lot of their original structure or are heavily decayed, dental crowns can cover them completely. They protect the natural tooth underneath while restoring strength, structure, and appearance. We can provide the latest all-ceramic crowns that look amazing, just like real teeth, only often much better.
Many people have natural gaps between their teeth, especially between their front teeth, called a diastema. While some people like this, others prefer to close or minimize it. We can use dental bonding or porcelain veneers to reduce or close gaps. Sometimes orthodontics may be preferable, especially when teeth are poorly aligned. We may suggest using orthodontics to reduce the size of a larger gap, closing it completely afterward with veneers or dental bonding.
Teeth that are crooked or overlapping can be straightened using orthodontics. Although this treatment can take longer, it can be a preferable option, especially if it can improve your bite or occlusion, positively benefiting your oral health. Another way to treat crooked teeth is with veneers, and this can be a good option if teeth are only slightly out of alignment and orthodontics isn’t so necessary.
If you are missing one or more teeth, it can negatively impact your smile and dental health, so replacing them can be a great investment, positively impacting your oral health and restoring your smile. Missing teeth can be replaced with dental bridges supported by natural teeth.
Alternatively, we can use dental implants that are self-supporting. Although this is another treatment that can take longer, it can provide significant dental health benefits, protecting and preserving your natural teeth while restoring your smile.
A comprehensive smile makeover can help rejuvenate your facial appearance, especially if you have significantly crooked teeth or teeth that are missing or worn. When this occurs, facial features can collapse inward, creating unwanted lines and wrinkles and an appearance that is prematurely aging. Using the most up-to-date cosmetic dentistry treatments, we can create a fuller, natural-looking smile with dental restorations like crowns, bridges, dental implants, and orthodontics. The treatment ensures that your facial features, including the muscles in your cheeks and lips, are properly supported and have the right dimensions.
Yes, and we take extensive care to ensure every smile makeover looks natural and complements your facial features. When we see someone for a smile makeover, we consider several factors, including facial structure, skin tone, hair color, the size and shape of their teeth, and how much gum tissue is displayed when they smile. We must look at the overall facial structure to determine which treatments might work best and provide the desired outcome.
We can help ensure your new teeth are a natural-looking color and design teeth with a more youthful appearance and shape. As you get older, teeth can wear down, so they look shorter and flatter than before, so restoring their natural length can create a more flattering appearance. We consider your smile line, the teeth visible when you smile. Your smile line helps determine the length and overall shape of your new teeth and how many should be treated to create a more uniformly perfect smile. We can even design teeth to have a more feminine or masculine appearance, depending on whether they are rounded or square.
The cost of your smile makeover can vary depending on whether any treatments are covered by dental insurance, your current oral health, and the extent of your smile makeover. When we examine your teeth and gums, we want to ensure you have good dental health before beginning your smile makeover. If necessary, we will recommend treatments to help restore your oral health. Some restorative dental procedures may be covered at least in part by your dental insurance. Others, like veneers or tooth whitening, are less likely to be covered.
Some treatments, like dental bonding and tooth whitening, are affordable and quick to complete, while others are costlier, such as adult orthodontics and dental implants. However, some of the more expensive treatments can provide longer-lasting results, and we can discuss the potential pros and cons of each procedure with you in detail, helping you to make the right choice for your needs and budget.
The time required to complete a smile makeover depends on the selected treatments and your current dental health. If you have any dental problems or failing or infected teeth, we must treat these first before proceeding with your smile makeover.
Often people will seek a smile makeover in preparation for a wedding or another big life event and need it completed within a specific time. Some treatments can be completed quite quickly; for example, you may be able to have dental bonding and teeth whitening in just a single visit. Dental veneers, crowns, and bridges can take several weeks to complete.
While several treatments used in a smile makeover can be completed within a few weeks, others can take longer, specifically dental implants and orthodontics but can provide excellent results. Therefore, we would recommend allowing plenty of time to complete a more comprehensive smile makeover and planning well ahead if it’s for a special event. When you visit Century Dental, we can give you a better idea as to how long is required to achieve the results you desire.
It would be lovely if the results last for life, but unfortunately, any dental restorations will begin to age and need replacing, and the results of teeth whitening treatments can fade. However, with the right care, you should enjoy the outcome of your smile makeover for several years or potentially much longer, depending on the treatments chosen.
Some treatments like dental bonding and teeth whitening will need to be replaced and repeated within a few years, or more often, depending on your lifestyle habits. The material used in dental bonding, composite resin, can begin to stain, and teeth can discolor when exposed to highly colored foods and drinks or if you smoke. Other treatments like porcelain crowns, bridges, and veneers last longer, and porcelain is stain resistant. You could be enjoying these restorations for ten years or more. If you opt for orthodontics or dental implants, you can enjoy the results for years or even for life if you follow our after-care instructions properly.
Caring for your smile makeover is simply a matter of maintaining good oral hygiene to ensure your smile continues to look its best. Ensure you brush at least twice daily and floss once a day, and avoid using highly abrasive toothpaste and hard-bristled toothbrushes that can damage natural teeth and gums and dental restorations.
Flossing is essential for removing food debris and plaque from around dental restorations and helps prevent tooth decay and gum disease. If you wish to use mouthwash, ask us to recommend a suitable brand; otherwise, choose one with fluoride, which is antimicrobial, so it helps protect your dental health. Avoid using mouthwash containing alcohol as this can dry out your mouth, negatively impacting your dental health.
Another sensible caution is to avoid chewing or biting on hard objects like pens and pencils or using your teeth as tools. If you have a teeth grinding and clenching habit called bruxism, we can fit you with a custom-made nightguard to help protect your dental restorations and teeth. Regular checkups and hygiene appointments help complete your preventive dental care plan and will help keep your teeth looking shiny and beautiful and, most importantly, healthy.
Here at Century Dental, we love creating custom smile makeovers for our patients, so if you are interested in this procedure, please come and see us. We can work closely with you, creating your dream smile, and we also work hard to ensure this process is as enjoyable as possible.
Century Medical and Dental Center is an accredited healthcare facility in NY that operates in accordance with Article 28, a public health law. This law regulates and recognizes accreditation for public healthcare facilities, ensuring they are licensed and operated correctly. By undergoing the Article 28 process and achieving accreditation, Century Medical and Dental Center demonstrates its commitment to meeting the highest standards of care.
As a multidisciplinary medical center, we have highly qualified doctors, nurses, and support staff who are working hard to provide the best medical care to patients in Midtown Manhattan, NY, Downtown Brooklyn, NY, including Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, and Bedford-Stuyvesant.