Spring forth with a perfect smile?
Spring is here and so is the start of the fashion season. Your smile is the first element of your look that people engage with, so attention to this aspect of your spring look is imperative. At FirstBite Dental we can help you achieve that perfect smile.
Cosmetic dentistry is all about finding the right solution for your perfect smile. Making your teeth whiter, straighter or more even, to achieve the brilliant, sparkling smile we all like to see in the mirror and on others.
In recent years, new techniques have been added to the armoury of cosmetic dentistry, allowing dentists to help clients achieve a dazzling smile and greater confidence with less time in the dentist’s chair, whilst retaining their original teeth as much as possible.
To whiten your teeth, the dentist will tailor mould a light mouthguard. Then when you are at home, you fill the mouthguard with a special whitening agent each day and wear it up to an hour, for about one or two weeks until you achieve the whiteness you want. This can work on your whole set of teeth or an individual discoloured tooth.
Gaps or short teeth can be corrected through bonding, in which a white filling is attached to the surface of the tooth, rather like attaching a false fingernail.
The bond is very strong and the result is virtually undetectable from your other teeth. We colour match the bond to the surrounding tooth enamel so no one will ever know you are wearing one.
Crowns and bridges are like hollow false teeth. A crown is fitted over a damaged tooth (with a strong root) and glued into place. A bridge covers the gap left by a missing tooth, and is like three crowns joined together in a row, the crown at each end being anchored to the remaining tooth on each side of the gap. Once it is in place and bonded to the tooth, the crown or bridge seals the underlying tooth so that no further decay will occur. Crowns can now be made of porcelain, giving an extremely realistic colour match to your remaining natural teeth. As well as providing a strong, good-looking replacement, a crown often proves less expensive than removing and replacing a badly decayed tooth.
An implant is another means of replacing a missing tooth and is the nearest equivalent to regaining the lost tooth. A small rod, made of titanium, is screwed into the jawbone and a crown is then attached to the top of the rod. Our bodies readily accept titanium and the bone bonds to it, making the implant very strong.
People with a gummy smile – showing only short teeth because there is too much gum covering them – can bring their teeth out of hiding for a brilliant smile with minor surgery. The one-step, one-visit process involves the dentist removing some of the gum to expose more of the teeth. The result is a larger, more confident smile, especially when combined with bleaching.
Dresses, shoes and handbags go out of season. Your FirstBite smile is timeless.