What is Cosmetic Dentistry?

Cosmetic dentistry is dental art to a dentist. A cosmetic dentist is an artist wishing to aesthetically improve your teeth to make you feel and look attractive, boost your confidence to smile and get the most out of life. Most if not all city dentists in London, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and private UK dentists provide cosmetic dental treatments so the Hollywood Smile is now available to everyone in the UK, not just celebrities.

What is a Smile Makeover?

A smile makeover is when a cosmetic dentist offers a range of cosmetic dental options such as using veneers, crowns, white fillings and teeth whitening to ensure that your entire smile is perfect and that you're happy with every single tooth.

How should I choose a private, cosmetic dentist?

• Recommended cosmetic dentists
  Ask all your friends, family and colleagues if they can recommend a cosmetic dentist.
• Testimonials of cosmetic dentists
  Ask cosmetic dentists for "real patient" testimonials and before & after photographs.
• Visit cosmetic dentist websites
  See different websites belonging to cosmetic dentists to give you an idea of the dentist's experience, qualifications and reputation as well as how the cosmetic dental practice environment looks and feels. Compare costs and location.
• Cosmetic dentistry consultation
  Some cosmetic dentists offer a free smile makeover consultation. Take advantage of this to discuss your options and decide on what cosmetic dental treatments you want.
• Cosmetic dentistry offers
  Dentists will offer various discounts on cosmetic dentistry treatments from time to time. Wait and watch out for these teeth whitening, veneer, smile makeover offers or just ask for one!
• Facial rejuvenation
  Find out if the cosmetic dentist also provides facial rejuvenation for a non-surgical face lift to complement your new smile makeover. Look younger with facial beauty today! Facial rejuvenation experts remove facial lines and wrinkles with medical skin care, chemical peels, dermal fillers, restylane, hydra fill, juvederm, botulinum (i.e. Botox®).

Cosmetic Dentists are usually a member of the following organisations:

American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry

TEETH WHITENING & TOOTH WHITENING

Home Teeth Whitening Kits
The dentist takes impression of your teeth and then a custom made mouth tray is created. A whitening gel is placed in the tray which you then wear whilst asleep or for short periods during the day. The whitening gel is not as stron gas that used in power or laser whitening procedures. No strong light source or laser is needed to activate the whitening agent. Instead, the gel is in contact with the teeth which causes the gel to release oxygen. These oxygen molecules break up the stains and enable more light to pass through the teeth, which then make them look whiter. Results are normally seen over 2 weeks.

1 Hour Power Whitening
Power whitening can whiten teeth by up to several shades, brightening your teeth dramatically to its natural shade. Your lips and gums are covered and a gel is applied to your teeth. A special light is positioned over your teeth to activate the gel, which gently penetrates your teeth, breaking up stains and discolouration. Whiter, brighter teeth in less than an hour!

PORCELAIN VENEERS & DENTAL VENEERS

If your front teeth are stained, chipped, or malaligned, veneers will give you a good life-like appearance with minimum tooth adjustment. A veneer is a facing on the front of your teeth usually your top teeth, it is just like a false finger nail. Veneers are made out of porcelain and are used mainly for aesthetic reasons. The procedure involves removing part of the outer tooth enamel in order to provide a better surface for bonding and allow room for a placement of the thin porcelain shell.

Veneers make teeth look natural and healthy, and because they are very thin and are held in place by a special strong bond (rather like super-glue) very little preparation of the tooth is needed. Porcelain veneers can improve the colour, shape and position of teeth. Procelain is an extremely durable matierla with colour, translucence and texture that is similar to tooth enamel. It is not prone to decay and resists staining while maintaining a natural appearance.

A precise shade of porcelain can be chosen to give the right colour to improve a single discoloured or stained tooth or to lighten front teeth (usually the upper ones) generally. Veneers can also be used to close small gaps, when orthodontics (braces) are not suitable. If one tooth is slightly out of position, a veneer can sometimes be fitted to bring it into line with the others.

WHITE FILLINGS

If the decay is not too serious, the dentist will remove all the decay and restore the tooth with a white (tooth coloured) filling.The dentist can safely replace silver amalgam fillings with white tooth coloured fillings. Dental decay happens when the enamel and dentine of a tooth become softened by acid attack, producing a cavity (hole).

TOOTH CONTOURING & RESHAPING TEETH

Lengthen the appearance of your teeth or to 'even up' the smile by reshaping your gums. The procedure involves applying a local anesthtic to the gums, and using a laser light to trim away excess gum tissue and reshape the edges of the gums above the six frong teeth that form the smile. The laser seals the blood vessels in the gums so that the tissue can heal quickly with little discomfort to the patient.

Gum contouring is a relatively less expensive and straight forward procedure that can instantly enhance a patient's smile. Shorten, smoothen or level your teeth to improve your smile line. The procedure involves using a polishng instrument to remove small amounts of surface enamel of one or multiple teeth. This is most often perform on the upper central, lateral and canine teeth.

Apart form the appearance benefit, there are often oral health benefits too as moothing the teeth and reparing overlaps can make them easier to clean, reducing he risk of cavities and gum disease. Reshaping can also be used to correct minor problems with bite and function. The procedure usually takes place generally in one visit to the dental practice, although a follow up visit is sometimes necessary.

BROKEN TEETH - TOOTH BONDING

Sometimes instead of a porcelain veneer, a natural colour ‘composite’ material is used instead of porcelain. Dental bonding is a fast, relatively less expensive way to repair cracked or chipped teeth, whiten discoloured teeth, change a tooth's shape, fill spaces between teeth, cover a tooth's exposed root and fill cavities.

The bonding procedure involves applying a tooth-coloured resin to the tooth and then using a special light to harden and bond the material to the tooth.

DENTAL CROWNS

A crown is an artificial restoration that fits over the remaining part of a prepared tooth, making it strong and giving it the shape of a natural tooth. A crown is sometimes known as a ‘cap’. Crowns are an ideal restoration for teeth that have been broken, or have been weakened by decay or a very large filling.

A crown could be used for a number of other reasons, for instance:
you may have discoloured fillings and would like to improve the appearance of the tooth
you may have had a root filling which will need a crown to protect it
it may help hold a bridge or denture firmly in place.

DENTAL BRIDGES

A bridge is usually used where there are fewer teeth to replace, or when the missing teeth are only on one side of the mouth. Bridges are usually made of a precious metal base. If the bridge will show, porcelain is then bonded to the base. Sometimes, there are other non-precious metals used in the base to reduce the cost.

You should replace missing teeth for a number of reasons. Your appearance is one reason. Another is that the gap left by a missing tooth can mean greater strain is put on the teeth at either side. A gap can also mean your ‘bite’ is affected, because the teeth next to the space can lean into the gap and alter the way the upper and lower teeth bite together. This can then lead to food getting packed into the gap, which causes both decay and gum disease.

FLEXIBLE DENTURES

Nobody has to know that you're missing teeth. Flexible partial dentures are the comfortable, beautiful, and affordable choice. It was long thought that removable partial dentures had to be rigid to be effective. The innovation of the Valplast® Flexible Partial allows the restoration to adapt to the constant movement and flexibility in your mouth.

Comfortable
Non-Invasive
Affordable
Virtually Invisible
Visit the Valplast website.

DENTAL IMPLANTS

Dental implants offer a permanent solution for your missing teeth. A dental implant is essentially a substitute for a natural root and commonly it is screw or cylinder shaped. Each implant is placed into a socket carefully drilled at the precise location of the intended tooth. Often the implant can be placed at the same time as removal of the tooth all on the same day. If an implant has a screw-thread on its outer surface it can be screwed into position and if it does not, it is usually tapped into place.

The main aim during installation of any implant is to achieve immediate close contact with the surrounding bone. This creates an initial stability, which over time is steadily enhanced by further growth of bone into microscopic roughnesses on the implant surface. In order to support replacement teeth, dental implants normally have some form of internal screw thread or post space that allows a variety of components to be fitted. Once fitted, these components provide the foundation for long-term support of crowns, bridges or dentures.

Association of Dental Implantology
The ADI aims to provide the public with an improved understanding of the benefits of implantology, and Members with the benefits of continuous skills development, safeguarding standards.

ORTHODONTICS

Fixed appliances are the most commonly used braces today, because they allow accurate positioning of the teeth. The braces are securely fixed onto the teeth and cannot be removed by the patient. There are various systems available ranging from the standard metal brackets to clear or aesthetic brackets.

The latest orthodonic introduction includes a completely new type of bracest. The braces (Damon and In-Ovation braces) offer low force and low friction technology. With the combine use of these new brackets with super elastic nickel titanium wires and modern bonding materials, teeth can be moved much faster and with much reduced pain and adjustments. Simple treatment may be carried out with a removable appliance (a plate that can be taken out to be cleaned). It has delicate wires and springs attached, which move the teeth using gentle pressure. These are removable appliances which use the muscles of the face and jaws to correct the bite and reduce the prominence of upper front teeth.

INVISALIGN INVISIBLE BRACES

Invisalign can help you get the great smile you've always wanted because it's...
Invisible, so no one can tell you're straightening your teeth. So now you can smile more during treatment as well as after. Removable, so you can eat and drink what you want while in treatment, plus brushing and flossing are no problem. Comfortable, because it has no metal to cause mouth abrasions during treatment. And no metal and wires usually means you spend less time in your doctor's office getting adjustments.

Invisalign® also allows you to view your own virtual treatment plan when you start, so you can see how your straight teeth will look when your treatment is complete. Invisalign is the invisible way to straighten teeth using a series of custom-made, nearly undetectable aligners. And it's been proven effective in both clinical research and in practices nationwide.

How Does Invisalign® Work?
You wear each set of aligners for about 2 weeks, removing them only to eat, drink, brush, and floss. As you replace each aligner with the next in the series, your teeth will move - little by little, week by week - until they have straightened to the final position your orthodontist or dentist has prescribed. You'll visit your orthodontist or dentist about once every 6 weeks to ensure that your treatment is progressing as planned. Total treatment time averages 9-15 months and the average number of aligners worn during treatment is between 18 and 30, but both will vary from case to case.
Visit the Invisalign website to learn more.