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A smile can be the most eye-catching feature of your face. Even
a subtle change can make a big difference in the way you look
and feel. New techniques like whitening,
bonding, enamel
shaping, veneers, and white
fillings allow us to create a beautiful smile with, at times,
only minimal changes to existing teeth. |
| Teeth Whitening is a very
popular procedure in cosmetic dentistry. It is a relatively easy
and effective technique for obtaining a dazzling, whiter smile,
at home, in a matter of days. |
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Bonding is a procedure where
tooth-colored composite resin material is placed to "fill
in the blanks." One of the most frequent uses of the bonding
technique is to fill in a gap between front teeth. |
| Enamel Shaping (Contouring)
is the process of shaping natural teeth to improve their appearance.
Shaping can be used to correct minor cases of crowded or overlapping
teeth, smooth rough edges, or make small adjustments to the shape
of a tooth. |
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Veneers are laboratory fabricated,
porcelain facings that are bonded to the front surfaces of teeth
to whiten teeth, close spaces, straighten teeth, or repair chipped
or worn teeth. The veneers are only about 1 mm thick (the thickness
of a fingernail). That same thickness is "shaved" off
the natural tooth surface so when the veneer is bonded to the
tooth, the tooth doesn't feel or look "thicker". |
| Caps (Crowns) are rarely used
for cosmetic correction any more, since the advent of veneers,
but in some cases a crown may be necessary for a particular tooth.
A tooth with a bad fracture or
a large filling that is breaking down,
or has decay around it, may be a candidate for a crown instead
of a veneer. This patient has veneers on top, but one of the front
teeth had a large filling and had to be crowned. |
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White fillings
replace silver or gold fillings with a more natural looking
tooth-colored material. Since teeth are translucent, dark fillings
cause the whole tooth to appear darker when viewed from the
side. Replacing older dark fillings with white fillings will
keep your smile glowing!
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