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Areas of Specialty
Teeth Whitening
Crooked Teeth
Short Teeth and Gummy Smiles
Gaps
Missing Teeth
Back Teeth
Teeth Whitening
For stained or dark teeth, teeth whitening is one of the simplest ways to change your smile if you have all natural teeth. This means that there are no existing crowns or veneers on the front or side teeth. If there are some older white fillings, these can be changed afterwards to match the new whitened color. Whitening is the most economical option to brighten every natural tooth in your mouth.
This can be completed in a number of ways.
Take Home Tray Whitening Average cost: $199 to $495
This involves having your dentist acquire impressions (moulds) of your teeth using a special impression material. These impressions are used to fabricate custom fitting trays for the upper and lower teeth. Instructions are provided on the proper usage of the whitening solution. This chemical can vary in strength. The appropriate strength will be recommended based on the intial shade and your present level of sensitivty. To complete the process, it can take 1-4 weeks based 1 - 3 hours of usage per day. Results can vary based on the individual habits. Based on your habits and diet, you may have to "touch up" the whitening. On average, the whitening solution is re-applied once a year. If the usage of red wine, colas, coffee and tea are high, the frequency of re-application will increase accordingly.
In-Office Whitening Average cost: $495 to $895
It provides the same result as tray whitening but in 1-2 hours depending on the whitening system used. In-Office Whitening involves the use of a whitening solution and a special light on your teeth. The special light is used to activate the solution once it has been carefully applied under the supervision of a dentist. This procedure is beneficial to anyone in a time crunch or will not adhere to the daily protocol of the home whitening trays.
Over the Counter Remedies
Products available in drugstores/grocery stores will vary in effectiveness. These retail products can lack the appropriate strength concentration to be effective. Thereby providing a less favorable result.
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Crooked Teeth
Straight teeth can be acquired easily in two ways. If the teeth are extremely crooked, the ideal treatment is orthodontics. More and more adults are pursuing the use of braces provided by an experienced orthodontically trained general dentist or orthodontic specialist.
Through advancements in orthodontics, a patient no longer needs to fear the railroad tracks any more. There are a number of options available.
Porcelain Brackets
Porcelain brackets are similar in color to the natural teeth and can be utilized to effectively treat the misalignment of teeth without a major change in appearance.
Invisalign
The Invisalign process involves the fabrication of custom made firm plastic trays that fit over the teeth. These trays move the teeth slowly to a more favorable positon for the bite function as well as the enhancement in the appearance of the smile. In some occassions, combination of braces with Invisalign is utilized to acquire the favorable results. Often, treatment will take 1-2 years depending on the original position of the teeth. A better time estimate for completion can be provided upon by the doctor.
Cosmetic Dentistry
Cosmetic dentistry can also provide patients with a straighter smile when teeth have mild to moderate crowding. Unlike lengthy orthodontic treatment, cosmetic dentistry can enhance the smile in as little as 2-4 weeks. After reshaping the teeth, veneers and crowns can be placed over the teeth that will provide a natural looking smile. The Smile Gallery section of this website will provide examples of life changing results.
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Short Teeth and Gummy Smiles
Short teeth can occur in two ways. Due to genetics, a patient may have short or small teeth. Or a patient can grind their teeth to become shorter over time. Based on the original problem, different treatment modalites may be used.
The dentist will once again utilize the latest techniques to assess your smile. In this particular case, not only are teeth analyzed but the gums are examined for symmetry. If the smile shows too much gum, a "gum lift" is required prior to veneering or bonding the teeth to increase the length. This involves removing a small amount of gum tissue around the neck of the tooth to make the tooth look longer. This may be required for one tooth or multiple teeth. After the gum tissue has healed, the remainder of the treatment plan can be completed.
If the gums appear normal and symmetrical,then bonding, veneers or crowns can be placed and provide the teeth with normal anatomical length.
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Gaps
Gaps in-between teeth can be fixed in multiple ways. In some cases, braces may be effective in closing the gaps.
Bonding can also be effective in closing gaps. This involves using a white filling material and placing it in-between the teeth to fill-in the spaces. This procedure can be completed in a single appointment.
Veneers can also be effective in closing gaps. This involves slightly reshaping the affected or involved teeth to create space for the expected veneers. Temporary acrylic veneers would be placed in the short term until the dental laboratory can complete the fabrication of the veneers. This procedure requires multiple appointments to achieve the final results.
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Missing Teeth
Missing teeth can create severe problems in the ability to function normally. If large spaces exist between teeth, the teeth begin to shift over time which can lead to gum disease, additional tooth loss and jaw joint problems.
Due to missing teeth, loss of supporting bone and gum structure will cause other unfavorable results. Often, the face may sink-in which may results in the smile and facial features to appear older.
Partial dentures, implants and bridge(s) are just a few of the possible solutions to missing teeth.
Partial Dentures
Partial dentures are an economical option when more than one tooth is missing in the upper or lower arch. This is a removable appliance that is made out of metal and acrylic. It allows you to chew properly and aids in keeping the neighboring teeth from tipping or moving further. Partial dentures can feel cumbersome as food impaction may occur. Partial dentures and can also loosen over time in the mouth therby requiring adjustments by the dentist.
Dental Implants
Dental implants involve the use of a titanium cylinder which is surgically placed in the jaw bone to replace the missing tooth. Once the implant integrates within the jaw bone (over a few months), a dental lab fabricated crown is placed on top of the implant. In some occasions, multiple dental implants are surgically placed to fill in the spots for multiple missing teeth. If this is the case, then more than one crown will be placed or a bridge may be required.
Dental impants are considered to be the best available solution for missing teeth. The main reason is that it does not involve reshaping the neighboring teeth. It solely deals with the missing tooth site(s). There is however one major criteria required. There must be enough bone for the implant to be placed into. This is determined well before the procedure by the use of special x-rays. If insufficient jaw bone exists, a procedure can be used to add additional bone to that area or "plump it up". It is referred to as ridge augmentation.
Bridge(s)
Bridges are effective when the missing tooth area has a natural tooth in front and behind for support. This procedure involves reshaping both of these teeth. The teeth are then crowned and the missing tooth is joined in the centre of these. The completed restoration is cemented in the mouth and cannot be removed. Bridges can be fabricated by the use of an all-porcelain material or a combination of metal and porcelain.
Occassions may occur when the surrounding gum tissue requires "plumping" prior to bridge placement. This ridge augmentation procedure will replace the lost bone and gum resulting in functionality and strength for the bridge. This procedure will also provide a more natural looking appearance of the treated area. Once the surgically treated area heals, a bridge can be fabricated and cemented in permanently.
A Cosmetically / Esthetically trained dentist can advise on the best course of treatment to achieve natural looking results.
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Back Teeth: Silver/Metal Fillings and Old Crowns
For many years, silver fillings have been used on teeth located in the back of the mouth. One major drawback is the visibility of a dark stained looking teeth when smiling.
Silver fillings are comprised of a combination of mercury and other metals. Like all metals, silver fillings expand and contract with hot and cold temperature changes. Due to the differences in the composition of the silver filings and natural tooth structure, temperature changes, and grinding can cause the fillings to crack/break resulting the change of the tooth height.
In additon, metals tend to corrode and tarnish with time. this is evident by its black color. As this occurs they break down around the edges and create a small gap. This leak will allow bacteria to enter and cause decay around and underneath the existing filling.
The mercury content is a hotly contested issue, with some research pointing to potential medical problems and other research refuting it. Regardless of the mercury issue, we have more cosmetic materials available to us, which will make your teeth healthy and natural looking.
Teeth that have silver fillings can be filled in 3 ways:
White Fillings
If the actual filling is small and does not take up most of the bititng surface of the tooth, they can be replaced with a white/tooth colored filling which is made of specialized palstic. This is a same day procedure.
Inlays and Onlays
As the surface area of the filling gets larger the white filling does not perform well under biting stresses. In this case an inlay or onlay is made. This involves removing the silver filling, taking an impression of the space, and placing a temporary filling in the tooth. The laboratory will then fabricate the larger porcelain filling and a second appointment will be needed to have this cemented in the space.
Crowns
Crowns are used when fillings are too large or if there was a previous crown on the tooth that is breaking down. Crowns made of a combination of porcelain and metal are functionally suitable. They are often used on molar teeth to aid in strength. All porcelain crowns are placed on front teeth, side teeth and occasionally molar teeth. Newer styled crowns look and feel natural without the metal banding that make your teeth look like they have black lines around the gums. The all porcelain crowns can also be used to close gaps or make twisted teeth look straight again.
Your dentist with advanced training in cosmetic dentistry can advise you on how to replace the old black fillings and old metal crowns with new white ones that make your teeth healthy and natural looking.
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