Wishing for the Perfect Smile

First impressions count and your smile is very important. Wishing for the perfect smile in time for your date, job interview, wedding, social reunion or business meeting? The appearance of your teeth determine a lot about you in terms of your outlook on life, how you smile, how friendly you seem, and how clean you appear. Having a beautiful smile with white, straight teeth is what cosmetic dentistry is all about. Invest in your smile, feel great about yourself, be happier and look fantastic!

What is a Cosmetic Dentist?

Cosmetic dentistry is dental art to a dentist. A cosmetic dentist is an artist wishing to aesthetically improve your teeth to make you feel and look attractive, boost your confidence to smile and get the most out of life. Most if not all dentists provide cosmetic dental treatments so the Hollywood Smile is now available to everyone not just celebrities.

Cosmetic Dentists are usually a member of the following organisations:

• American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
• British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry

What is a Smile Makeover?

A smile makeover is when a cosmetic dentist offers a range of cosmetic dental options such as using veneers, crowns, white fillings and teeth whitening to ensure that your entire smile is perfect and that you're happy with every single tooth.

Further information
From Floss: Cosmetic Dental Makeover Self-Test
From Animated Teeth: Smile Makeovers

What is a Veneer?

A veneer is a thin layer of porcelain made to fit over the front surface of a tooth, like a false fingernail fits over a nail. Sometimes a natural colour 'composite' material is used instead of porcelain.

Veneers can improve the colour, shape and position of your teeth. A precise shade of porcelain can be chosen to give the right colour to improve a single discoloured or stained tooth or to lighten front teeth (usually the upper ones) generally.

A veneer can make a chipped tooth look intact again. The porcelain covers the whole of the front of the tooth with a thicker section replacing the broken part.

What is a Crown?

A crown is an artificial restoration that fits over the remaining part of a prepared tooth, making it strong and giving it the shape of a natural tooth. A crown is sometimes known as a 'cap'.

Crowns are an ideal restoration for teeth that have been broken, or have been weakened by decay or a very large filling. A crown could be used for a number of other reasons, for instance:

• you may have discoloured fillings and would like to improve the appearance of the tooth
• you may have had a root filling which will need a crown to protect it
• it may help hold a bridge or denture firmly in place.

Further information
From the BDHF: Dental crown
From Animated Teeth: Dentist crown
From About Cosmetic Dentistry: Teeth crowns

What is a White Filling?

Further information
From the BDHF: Dental white fillings
From Animated Teeth: Dentist white filling
From My New Smile: Teeth white fillings

What is Teeth Whitening, Tooth Whitening or Bleaching?

Teeth whitening, tooth whitening and power bleaching teeth are all the same. Teeth become stained because of food and drinks such as tea, coffee and red wine. There are many other reasons for tooth discolouration and smoking tobacco is one of the main causes.

Teeth whitening home kits are available to complement the 1 hour chair-side power bleaching. A custom built mouth tray is created by the cosmetic dentist to ensure a perfect fit and effective home bleaching process.

Further information
From the BDHF: Dental teeth whitening
From Animated Teeth: Dentist teeth whitening
From ADA: Tooth whitening

Mouth Cancer Awareness

All dentists should screen for mouth cancer as part of a regular checkup. For more information on mouth, tongue, throat and other head and neck cancers, visit the Mouth Cancer Foundation website.