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Porcelain Veneers, Dental Veneers, or Lumineers
Porcelain veneers or dental veneers are also known by brand names like Da Vinci Veneers and Lumineers. Traditional porcelain veneers typically involve three visits to the dentist. In the first appointment, you will make decisions about smile design and your dentist will plan the steps for changing your smile. The next visit will take one to two hours and the teeth are prepared. A small amount of the tooth is buffed down to make room for the porcelain shell. You may require a local anesthetic for comfort. A mold is cast of your teeth and sent to a lab where the veneers are molded to your specifications. If necessary, temporary veneers will be placed on your teeth while the permanent ones are being made.
Lumineers, made by Cerinate, are thin porcelain shells that do not involve the buffing down process that traditional veneers require. Lumineers have recently received a lot of media attention thanks to Extreme Makeover and the National Enquirer. Laser Whitening, In-Office Teeth Bleaching, Home Bleaching The teeth whitening biz has exploded – but it’s easy to decide what’s best for you based on your budget. If you don’t have a budget, try the inexpensive whitening strips available at the grocery store. If you do want to fork over a few bucks, your dentist can lead you through the options for laser and tray whitening systems. Some of the brand names for these whitening systems include Brite Smile, ZOOM! and ZOOM 2!, Day and Nite White, Opalescence, and Tres White. Bleaching and Laser Whitening are also commonly used to achieve similar results.
Implant Dentistry or Dental Implants Dental implants are great for people who are missing one or more teeth and are unhappy with their natural smile. The effects of a missing tooth are different for everyone and depend on which tooth exactly is missing. If you've lost the crown, you've lost the visible part of your tooth. An implant can replace a crown, but doesn’t necessarily have to. But if you've lost the root as well, you've lost the unseen part of your tooth. The root of the tooth provides the anchor to your jawbone and provides stable support for the crown. When a root is lost, the surrounding bone may gradually recede and cause the remaining teeth to shift. Once this happens, chewing may become more difficult over time. You can choose from a number of ways to replace your tooth crowns. But if you're interested in replacing your entire tooth - crown and root - your only option is dental implants. Invisalign® and Invisalign Express
Invisalign® is well known to the public now as the invisible way to straighten your teeth without braces. Invisaline uses a series of clear removable aligners to straighten your teeth, so you wear each set of aligners for about 2 weeks, removing them only to eat, drink, brush, and floss. Every two weeks, you replace each aligner with the next in the series. Your teeth will move gradually until they have straightened to the final position that you and your orthodontist or dentist have agreed upon. 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. Invisalign Express is designed for cases that are less severe and require a shorter treatment time. Ask you dentist if Invisalign Express is the right kind of orthodontic solution for you.
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