What is cosmetic dentistry?

Cosmetic dentistry for that perfect smile

Cosmetic dentistry – what is it and what are the most popular procedures? Cosmetic dentistry aims to give you the perfect smile, which can improve your self-confidence and personal relationships. And cosmetic dentistry is raising its public profile, with many celebrities having treatments, and through TV shows such as Ten Years Younger (channel 4).

Popular cosmetic dentistry procedures include teeth-whitening, veneers, dentures, crowns, caps, dental bonding, white fillings, fixing broken teeth, dental bridges and treatment from orthodontists. Let's take a closer look.

Veneers

Veneers are the modern way to get a perfect smile. Your cosmetic dentist will cement very thin laminates or shells of porcelain to the front surface of your teeth – a bit like false fingernails. Veneers are quick, painless and straightforward.

Tooth whitening

Most cosmetic dentists offer teeth-whitening for that perfect smile. Usually, there's a mix of instant, in-surgery teeth-whitening and home-whitening kits. Both teeth-whitening procedures use a bleaching process of 3-30% peroxide, with the higher concentration offering a powerful bleaching compound.

Crowns and caps

Talk to your cosmetic dentist about crowns and caps if you want to protect damaged, cracked and worn teeth. Crowns are tooth-shaped caps that cover your teeth to make them look better and restore their shape. Crowns protect the tooth from further decay.

Dental bonding

With dental bonding, your cosmetic dentist will fill your front and back teeth with a composite resin. You'll have a thin coat of plastic on the surface of your teeth and dental bonding will hide natural flaws.

White fillings

If you find traditional silver amalgams too unattractive or are worried about health risks, speak to your cosmetic dentist about white fillings. With modern dental materials, it's easy to match the shade of a particular tooth and it can be hard to spot you have a filling there at all. Your cosmetic dentist can even use white filling material to cover stains on your teeth.

Dental implants

Your cosmetic dentist will explain that dental implants are an expensive version of dentures or bridgework. Dental implants are titanium rods that are inserted in your jawbone. They're used for securing dentures or crowns.

If you think cosmetic dentistry might be for you, you should speak to a reputable cosmetic dentist, such as Ideal Dental Care, particularly if you have a dental phobia about any of the treatments.