At Burlingame Dental, your choice for family dentists in SW Portland, our doctors always want to provide our patients with the best smile care possible. That’s why we offer a wide range of procedures including cosmetic dentistry services that can help improve your smile.
Sometimes we think that improving our smile can be a lot of time and money, but this luxury is possible for anyone. If you want a smile you are proud of there are certain things you can do.
A smile that looks great will not only make you feel better but you will feel more confident, it will also help you be healthier and it can help your personal and professional life.
There are many benefits to cosmetic dentistry even thought some patients don’t fully understand what the different procedures can include. To help calm down any uncertainty, here is a brief explanation of common cosmetic dentistry procedures.
Dental Bonding
Bonding is one of the main procedures that will use a tooth-colored resin to improve a smile. The resin is applied to the tooth, and a small light is used which will harden the material into one place, hence the word “bonding” it directly to the tooth. Dental bonding is generally one of the easiest cosmetic dental procedures for our doctors to perform, and it is generally used to repair a chipped or cracked tooth, eliminate certain gaps, or even to change the shape of a tooth.
Veneers
Dental veneers are another common procedure, they are thin, custom created little shells that will fit over the front of a surface on the tooth. Veneers are always bonded to the front of the teeth, which will sometimes alter the color, length, shape, or size of a patient’s teeth. Veneers can offer most patients a more conservative method to alternating the color and shape of the teeth, especially when compared to another procedure like dental crowns. The dental veneer process is most often not reversible.
Crowns
Crowns can help to improve the size, shape and strength of the tooth. Most crowns will last anywhere from five to 15 years, they are made from materials as metal, porcelain, ceramic, or resin. Before a crown is placed in the mouth, the existing tooth will be filed down; the crown will be cemented over, this allows the crown to fully encase the patients tooth.
Orthodontics
This is a term that is usually thought of with braces, as orthodontics will help correct a patient’s teeth that are crooked or misaligned. Braces will correct a patient’s teeth through a pressure and steady pressure, which will slowly move the teeth back into a straight position over a period of time. As a patient’s teeth may shift, the bony tooth sockets will also begin to change shape because of the pressure that is applied. Orthodontic technology has certainly come a long way in recent years, and braces are not just for children. New techniques exist now that doesn’t require metal brackets. This allows for nearly invisible realignment.
Teeth Whitening
Teeth whitening will help to correct years of consuming enamel staining foods and drinks. We provide your teeth with a special bleaching agent that we can place into the clear tray that we will custom fit to your teeth. This whitening agent will help remove stains on your teeth’s enamel. Once your teeth are the preferred brightness, occasional treatments will be needed to maintain your new, brilliantly white smile.
