The color, size, and shape of your
teeth all have a profound impact on your appearance. While it is often
the desire of people to improve the look of their smiles, it is the
goal of aesthetic dentistry, to do this while still maintaining a
"natural" appearance of the teeth. This often requires addressing one
or all of the above-mentioned criteria. How is it that alterations in
these three characteristics enhance your smile?
Color of Your Teeth
Tooth color is most commonly what
people see first. As you get older, your teeth get darker. The reasons
for this include normal changes that occur within the tooth and
repeated insults from environmental conditions (coffee or tea stains,
for example). Generally, then, darker teeth are associated with older
age. The easiest way that aesthetic dentistry can correct this is by
teeth bleaching. But this alone may not entirely create a
natural-looking appearance.
Size and Shape of Your Teeth
Size and shape also are major factors
that define the appearance of teeth. The most common cause of changing
tooth size and shape over time is tooth wear; and the most common
cause of wear is tooth-to-tooth contact, or grinding. Wear on the
edges of the teeth can give the appearance of aging because you do not
show as much of your teeth when you smile. Another factor that affects
how much of your teeth show when you smile is the loss of skin tone as
you age. This loss of tone causes your face to sag, thereby showing
less of your upper teeth and more of your lower teeth. The aesthetic
dentistry treatment to enable more teeth to show when you smile will
depend on the cause. If the cause is due to wear of the teeth, dental
veneers or dental crowns can be used to regain the lost length and
fill out the smile. On the other hand, this may not have a significant
effect if the cause is due to the loss of skin tone associated with
age. If this is the case, plastic surgery may be indicated as part of
the treatment.
Wear on teeth also will make the
edges of the front teeth very flat. As this occurs, the edges of the
front teeth will form a straight line rather than the more youthful
appearance when the two front teeth are slightly longer than the teeth
next to them. Also, as they wear, the proportion of length to width
will be altered. Teeth will start to appear more square in their shape
rather than rectangular.
Basically, any treatment that
counteracts the above-mentioned appearance changes has the ability to
enhance the appearance of your teeth and smile. The aesthetic
dentistry treatment can vary from teeth bleaching to dental crowns or
dental veneers. Depending on the severity, other forms of treatment
such as braces and gum surgery also may be indicated to enhance the
appearance and function of your teeth. It is important to remember
that all areas need to be addressed. If treatment for teeth that are
worn and dark only involves teeth bleaching, the final result will be
whiter teeth that are still worn and short. The teeth will not appear
natural, as there will be a conflict between white teeth (youthful)
and worn teeth (aged) that do not work together. Instead, it is
necessary to correct the color, size, and shape to create a more
natural appearance.
Case I : Extreme Makover: Tetracycline
Staining changed with Veneers !
Patient had been seen in
March 2006 at which time I advised that Britesmile would not change the
colour of a tetracycline stained tooth. Veneers were the only option.
Patient can remember having yellow bands on the teeth as far back as
childhood . Treatment planning was done months in advance using mainly
photographs as our guide. Here are the results as completed in November 2006
over a period of 10 days ! In total 16 veneers were done.
Before Treatment
After Treatment
Using E- Max
Empress -II Veneers
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Case II : Extreme Makeovers:
Patient reported to the surgery holding his hand on his mouth while having a
chat with us. He said he was too embarrassed to smile without his front
teeth. Here are the results.
Before Treatment
After Treatment
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Case III: Patient wanted to extract an upper central incisor which
was mobile and replace it with a bridge. We had to also replace existing
crowns & veneers and splint the lower mobile teeth using a bridge. We also
found that the size of the central incisors were not proportional and so
readjusted their size as well.
Before Treatment
After Treatment:
Crowns and Bridges on upper
teeth, lower canines and premolars crowned
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Case IV
: Patient reported to the surgery with wear in the central incisors. Also
with extensive wear the smile line was crooked. We did not advise tooth
whitening t as the teeth were sensitive. The case is going on ....
Before Treatment
After Treatment:
Using Porcelain Crowns on
central incisors and 1 lateral incisor.
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Case V: Patient had extremely
discoloured teeth caused due to age and chronic smoking. He came to us
wanting to improve the way he looked and here is what we did.
Before Treatment
After Treatment : Using Brite Smile Tooth Whitening
Case VI : Patient reported to the surgery with
extremely poor hygiene having not seen a dentist for years. Needless to say
he was thrilled with his result !
Before Treatment
After Treatment
Case VII: Patient reported to the surgery
with badly worn out teeth due to excessive tooth brushing .
Procedure involved doing Porcelain veneers and Composite
fillings.
Before Treatment
After Treatment
