Hello I'm Dr. Mehrdad Soheili from Yalda Dental. Today I would like to talk about a very hot topic that I've been asked so many times, which is cosmetic dentistry or I would prefer to use this term aesthetic dentistry.
What is cosmetic dentistry?
A very general question I've been asked is what is cosmetic dentistry. Cosmetic dentistry or aesthetic dentistry is a very vast topic and when it comes to aesthetic, it means we're talking about different tastes and different perspectives that different people might have. Cosmetic dentistry could be about changing a tooth shade that mismatches with other teeth, correcting the smile arc, or changing the shape, the size, the shade, the morphology of the teeth, or all of them together.
What is the difference between cosmetic dentistry and restorative dentistry?
What is the difference between cosmetic dentistry and restorative dentistry? It's a very intelligent question. Restorative dentistry means doing fillings on teeth that need fillings, they have decays, or making crowns or bridges. In other words, restorative dentistry is regaining the health and function back to the teeth that are defective. Cosmetic dentistry, on the other hand, is not about function; it's not most of the time about teeth health, it's just for their look and how they need to be looked at. It varies with patients; sometimes they just demand to do it. Again, it varies from patient to patient how much or how much detailed cosmetic dentistry they like to have. Sometimes just whitening is considered cosmetic dentistry and patients have beautiful teeth, perfect size, perfect small arc, but the teeth are just dark, so all we need to make a perfect aesthetic dentistry is do a whitening. Sometimes we have discrepancies between tooth size and arc size, sometimes we have large spacing between teeth, sometimes we have rotated teeth, malshaped or malformed or malshaded, or the combination of all. It goes from a very simple treatment to a very advanced treatment on the other side of the scale; they're all cosmetic dentistry.
How would I know if cosmetic dentistry is right for me or my family?
How would I know if cosmetic dentistry is the right thing for me and my family? This is a question I've been asked quite frequently. If you don't like your smile, if you're not happy with the shape and shade of your teeth, or let's put in a general phrase, if you're not happy with how your teeth look, you need cosmetic dentistry.
Can cosmetic dentistry improve my smile?
Can cosmetic dentistry improve my smile? I've been asked this question. The reason for having cosmetic dentistry, operating cosmetic dentistry, is improving the smile. That's the most important and main reason for designing and operating cosmetic dentistry.
Can a cosmetic dentist fix crooked teeth?
Can a cosmetic dentist treat crooked teeth? This is another question that I've been asked a lot. It depends on how severe the crooked tooth or teeth are, or I'll put it this way: how severe is the tilting, rotating, shifting, or crowding of the teeth. If they're mild, yes, we can definitely correct it with a wise and well-designed and operated cosmetic dentistry. If they are severe, for example, the tooth has been tilted like 40° or shifted severely, then we need to do orthodontic treatment, and after that, we may or may not need cosmetic dentistry to correct everything as a last touch and create a beautiful smile.
Is there any point where someone is too old or not well enough for cosmetic dentistry?
Is there any point where someone is too old or not well enough for cosmetic dentistry? Is there any point that someone is too old to receive cosmetic dentistry? This is a question I've been asked many times. The answer is it's never too old to have a beautiful smile. Nobody is too old to have beautiful teeth, white teeth, functional and a great display. It's never too old.
What should I consider when choosing a dentist for cosmetic dentistry?
Why should a patient consider when they want to do cosmetic dentistry regarding finding the dentist? The answer to this question is not very easy, but it's not very difficult and hard to find a cosmetic dentist. Aesthetic dentistry is not a specialty in many postgraduate courses in private or dental schools. The universities have courses and education from simple to very advanced education about cosmetic dentistry. We should very frankly and very honestly ask our dentists how expert he or she is in operating cosmetic dentistry. We should ask, as patients, about the background, about the samples of previous patients' esthetic dentistry, the reviews that the dentist has. When it comes to aesthetic dentistry, it's all visual, so the best way is to see the dentist's aesthetic dentistry works.
Is cosmetic dentistry covered by insurance?
Is cosmetic dentistry covered by insurance? That's a very good question. The answer is most of the time no. Insurance companies, as far as I know, none of them cover cosmetic dentistry. Say call and ask the office. Yeah, call. Okay, okay, that's the question again. Is cosmetic dentistry covered by insurance? It's a very good question. Different insurance companies have different policies and different rules, so the best way of knowing this is calling the office and the office manager, and the front office people, they usually know. If necessary, they ask, they call the insurance company, and they ask them.
If my insurance won't cover the cost of cosmetic dentistry, are there any financing options available?
If the insurance company doesn't cover cosmetic dentistry, are there any financing or other facilities in the dental office? That's a question we've been asked many, many times. The answer is yes, we can help our patients and we always do as much as we can, as much as possible, to make any type of dentistry that we do in our office doable and feasible for the patient. There are different ways and several ways to help our patients. If they call the office and schedule an appointment for consultation, we can discuss all options.
Cosmetic Enhancements
When we think of cosmetic surgery, we tend to focus on the cheeks, eyes, and nose. But there are some appearance enhancements that a cosmetic surgeon can't make: those having to do with your teeth. As more people look to improve their appearance through surgery, cosmetic dentistry and periodontology are experiencing a rise in popularity. In fact, a poll conducted by the American Academy of Periodontology found that smile enhancement procedures outnumbered eyelid surgeries five to one.
The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry cites a recent study in which participants were shown photos of people before and after smile-enhancing treatment. The people with improved smiles were rated not just as more attractive, but also more popular, sensitive, successful, and friendly.
If you're interested in improving your smile, we can help in a variety of areas. Following are some of the most common corrections we perform for our patients.
Gummy or Crooked Smile
If you have too much gum showing when you smile, causing your teeth to look short, we call this a gummy smile. If your gum line is uneven, causing some teeth to look shorter than others, we call this a crooked smile. Both situations are easily remedied with a procedure referred to as a gum lift or crown lengthening. During this procedure, we remove excess gum tissue and reshape the contour of your gums to lengthen the crowns of your teeth and provide a natural-looking gum line.
Exposed Roots
Gum recession can be caused by gum disease, vigorous brushing, grinding or clenching, or simply age and genetics. Regardless of the cause, as gums recede they expose the roots of the tooth, creating the appearance of longer teeth. Exposed roots also increase vulnerability to root decay, bone loss, and sensitivity to hot and cold liquids and foods. The solution to this situation is a soft-tissue graft, also known as a gum graft. During this procedure, tissue from the top of your mouth or another source is transplanted to the gum area, covering the roots and restoring the gum line to its original, healthy location. A soft-tissue graft protects your roots from decay and helps prevent additional gum recession.
Missing Teeth
Aside from creating distracting gaps in your smile, missing teeth can cause problems with your oral health. To restore your smile to fullness and health, we use implants. An implant is a replacement tooth attached to a synthetic root that is surgically placed into the jawbone. Permanent implant crowns look and feel like natural teeth. Implants can last a lifetime if cared for properly.
Gum Indentations
When a tooth falls out or is removed, an indentation can appear in the gums and jawbone just above the spot where the tooth used to be. This occurs because the jawbone slowly atrophies or disappears in response to the empty space. In combination with replacing your missing tooth, we can provide ridge augmentation, a procedure in which we smooth out the indentation to recreate the original curvature of your gums and jaw. This procedure generally includes bone grafting to restore the missing bone, and in some cases must be performed prior to the placement of implants to ensure that sufficient bone is available to securely retain the implant.