Implant diagnosis is critical

The procedure to place an implant is really not that difficult. It is actually taught at weekend courses throughout the country. The most critical part of an implant procedure is not the day of the surgery, but the diagnosis and planning that occurs before the patient is even given the appointment for surgery. Factors such as how the teeth bite together, what is the quality of the bone, is the patient a grinder, and many others determine the longevity of an implant. The surgery to place the implant has a >95% success rate. Although as soon as the crown is placed on the implant, the long-term success rate drops because the tooth is actually in use for eating. This x-ray is an example of poor treatment planning by not evaluating how the bite together. Over prolonged use the existing bad bite prior to surgery has created micro-movements of the left implant, which has caused bone resorption. Eventually it will lose more bone until it becomes loose and infected. Once that implant is lost, the same problem will start to affect the remaining implants.

Dentures and Implants

When patients think of cosmetic dentistry, you may first think of veneers, bonding, or whitening among other procedures. For the unfortunate patients that need full mouth rehabilitation, dentures may be their only solution. However, dentures in combination with implants have proven to be a successful formula that would not make you miss your original teeth in the end. Implants provide reliable support for a denture that will enormously improve the lives of many traditional denture patients. It can restore your chewing strength to nearly pre-denture levels and is an incredible improvement over historical denture treatment.

Implants are the best long-term option

Implants have become the highest standard of care to replace a missing tooth. Although, if you still have a tooth with a poor prognosis, it is also advantageous to consider removing it and placing an implant. The long-term success of implants have reached the point where it is a more reliable and safe procedure than trying to nurse a failing tooth. Especially if the tooth in question deteriorates, it may reduce the available bone for the future implant. At this point, you endanger the future implant procedure by not having enough bone, and may need a bone graft. This second procedure adds delay and finances to your treatment plan when it would have been prudent to consider removing the offending tooth to begin with.

Invisalign

A new treatment called Invisalign has become increasingly popular as an alternative to traditional braces. It uses clear trays that are changed every two weeks to move teeth. It's not a replacement for braces in certain cases, but can be useful for many patients. It's also great in combination with many cosmetic dentistry procedures.

Teeth whitening

Teeth whitening is a well known procedure of cosmetic dentistry that most people can enjoy comfortably. It has increased in popularity over the last 20 years and is safe as well as reliable. In-office whitening is great to jump start the process in conjunction with a home kit to bring out the sparkle in your smile. A home kit is perfect for occasional touch-ups throughout the year as well. However, a thorough exam is necessary before treatment to ensure that there are not any oral health concerns prior to whitening.

Different shapes of teeth

Did you know that there are studies to prove that women tend to have teeth shaped differently from men? Female teeth usually have more rounded edges and are not as wide. Male teeth are more wide and broader with noticeable defined angles. We often have patients that ask if we can fix their smile to fit these descriptions. It can be done easily with cosmetic dentistry. Sometimes it may only involve reshaping teeth without anesthesia. Other times it can require bonding, veneers, or other options. 

Achieving the best results

In a beautiful painting, it's not a single color of paint that matters. It is the combination of all the colors in harmony with each other that makes a painting described as art. The same philosophy applies to cosmetic dentistry. It may not always be just the chipped, or oddly shaped, or dark tooth that needs to be fixed. There are cases when the best results can only be achieved when treating the adjacent teeth as well to create the most natural appearance.

Routine checkups

Although a routine checkup may not be seem important, it provides the best predictor when something might be starting to become a problem. A cavity usually takes at least three weeks before it will be evident on an x-ray. Once it does, it commonly indicates that the cavity is larger in your mouth, since an x-ray is only a 2-dimensional picture of a 3-dimensional cavity. Routine  appointments every six months reduces the chances that a simple cavity normally fixed with a filling, would turn into a root canal and crown problem.

Cosmetic bonding for misshapen teeth

Cosmetic bonding is available for correcting teeth that don't quite have the shape to fit a nice smile. In this example, a patient has misshaped peg-lateral incisors that initially developed this way. A no-anesthesia, bonding procedure was able to correct her appearance in one visit. Bonding is a safe, non-invasive way to correct many problems since it doesn't remove any tooth structure.

Cosmetic dentistry for the everyday problem

Not all cosmetic dentistry requires a full mouth reconstruction to achieve a great result. Sometimes a simple problem can be corrected with a simple procedure. This patient was unhappy with a space between his teeth and the previous bonding had recently fractured. This procedure was completed in one appointment and without anesthesia.