Cosmetic Dentistry
Today’s modern cosmetic dentistry is putting beautiful, healthy-looking smiles within reach for more patients of all ages, with effective treatments that are often surprisingly affordable.
Talk with us to learn more about your options for relief from a variety of cosmetic complaints. We can help:
Replace missing teeth
Change your teeth’s size, shape and alignment
Whiten and give your teeth an even tone
Fill gaps in your smile
Replace old treatments with modern alternatives, such as amalgam to resin fillings
Dental Bridges
A fixed bridge is a dental restoration that is fixed to surrounding teeth. The bridge fills (bridges) the gap left by the missing teeth, preventing the surrounding teeth from moving into the gap and becoming misaligned.
A fixed bridge is less invasive than a dental implant. In cases where the surrounding teeth are strong enough to support the bridge, it is an excellent solution for maintaining jaw alignment and creating a beautiful smile. Your dentist can craft a bridge that will perfectly match the colour of your surrounding teeth and shape it to enhance your smile!
Dental Crowns
Inlays, onlays and crowns are called indirect restorations because the restoration is fabricated outside of the mouth, instead of being built in layers directly onto the teeth like a filling.
An indirect restoration is called an inlay if it covers part of a tooth without extending to a cusp (pointed tip of tooth). It is an onlay if it extends to replace a tooth’s cusp. And if it completely covers the top surface of the tooth, it is called a crown or cap.
A crown is known as a full-coverage restoration. Crowns can be used to hold together cracked teeth, cover root canal treatments, cap teeth that have been damaged by decay, and help those teeth be more resistant to further decay.
Crowns can also be used to correct tooth colour and alignment defects and correct structural damage to individual teeth. Having a crown placed is more invasive than getting a veneer, but it provides more reliability when added bite strength is required.
Your dentist will take impressions of your teeth, and then the restoration is shaped to match the part of the teeth it will replace. The restoration is attached with dental cement.
Inlays, onlays and crowns are more effective than fillings in reinforcing teeth to withstand biting forces. Indirect restorations are also more resistant to further decay. If a tooth’s original structure is too compromised to support a filling, an indirect restoration can provide fantastic, long-lasting, beautiful results.
Teeth Whitening
All dental whitening methods (over-the-counter or professional) involve the application of a whitening agent to the teeth. Professional home whitening has become a safe, quick, and predictable way to achieve a brighter smile. The custom-fit trays made by your dentist will ensure that the whitening material stays on the tooth where it is most effective.
The Procedure
Your first appointment is approximately 20 minutes and consists of measurements (i.e. Impressions) that allow the laboratory to fabricate soft, ultra-slim trays that are custom fit to your teeth.
Your second appointment is approximately 10 minutes. You will be given your custom-fit trays and tips on how to use your home whitening kit.
2 weeks of whitening using a professional dental product is usually sufficient to make a good improvement in your smile. However, you may continue to lighten your teeth beyond this. Talk to your dentist about how you can work together to get the best results.
Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are thin layers of porcelain fixed onto teeth to enhance appearance, and in some cases, to protect the teeth. Veneers allow many patients to achieve a dramatic smile makeover without highly invasive treatments. The results are also durable, lasting 10-30 years.
Veneers typically require 2-3 appointments. The first is a consultation to determine the desired look and plan the veneers' shape to achieve it.
During the second visit, the tooth surfaces will be prepared by removing a very thin layer of enamel and taking impressions of the teeth. Using these impressions, veneers are fabricated to fit onto the surfaces, either on-site or at a lab facility.
On the third visit, the dentist will apply a cleaning solution to prepare the tooth surfaces for bonding, and the permanent veneers will be cemented.
Botox
Botulinum toxin, a neurotoxin that paralyzes muscles by interfering with nerve signals from the brain at the connection to the muscle fibres, is now commonly used for cosmetic purposes. While sold under a number of different brand names, the most popular and well-known of these brands is Botox, from the company Allergan.
By weakening different muscles involved in making facial expressions, Botox treatments can reduce or eliminate creases in the skin, which occurs when the skin folds by muscle activity. This tends to give the skin a more relaxed, fresh appearance. A solution of the drug is prepared and injected directly into the muscle to be weakened. Generally speaking, the most commonly treated areas of the face are the creases between the eyes made when frowning (the corrugator supercilii and other muscles), the lines in the forehead made by the “surprised” expression (the frontalis muscle), and the “crow’s feet” made by smiling (the orbicularis oculi muscle).
Botox is often used to treat some problems which may initially appear dental in nature. For example, for patients with a “gummy smile,” a small dose of Botox on either side of the nose can weaken the muscles that lift the lip, resulting in a more balanced smile. Some patients with chronic muscle pain issues in the face, including those with jaw clenching problems, also sometimes experience relief with the use of Botox.
The cost of Botox treatment is usually related to the total dose of the drug required to provide the desired effect. People with stronger muscles often require higher doses, and stronger muscles require higher doses.
The effect of the treatment is not instantaneous. It usually requires one or two weeks before the full effect of a treatment is visible. The overall effect and the duration of effectiveness depends on the amount of the drug used, the strength of the muscles involved, and how a particular patient responds to the treatment. It is a little bit different for each person, and the doctor providing the treatment will typically adjust an individual’s dose depending on the outcome of previous treatments. Generally, they will try to find a dose that will give a 3-4 month effect. If the treatment is not lasting that long, it is usually a sign that a higher dose is required.
There are very few side effects concerns with Botox treatment. It is injected directly to the desired site of action and does not easily spread throughout the body in high enough doses to affect other body systems. The most common adverse effects are simply minor bruising around the site of Botox placement or the weakening of additional muscles beyond those targeted, resulting in unbalanced or undesirable cosmetic outcomes. Since the effect of Botox is temporary, these sorts of side effects wear off with time. The best way of avoiding these side effects is simply to not be too aggressive with the amount of drug being used, especially if a person is seeing a new doctor or has not had Botox before.
If you have any additional questions about Botox treatments, please call our office or set up a free consultation with one of our doctors.