If Your Teeth Don’t Look Perfect, They Can!

By Dr. Anasinski

Are you unhappy with the way your teeth look? Perhaps they are yellow or stained, or even crooked, cracked or chipped. Perhaps you have teeth that are missing. Even so…there’s no need to have teeth or a smile that you are not proud of because a trip to your dentist can start you on your way to perfect-looking teeth and a beautiful smile. With the tools and procedures now available in modern dental technology, all teeth can be made to look perfect.

For teeth that are yellowed or stained, dentists have the options of using tooth whitening, which is an in-office bleaching procedure, or porcelain veneers that can be used to cover up stained or yellowed teeth that won’t respond to whitening. Tooth whitening that is done under a dentist’s supervision is stronger and more effective than over-the-counter versions. And veneers are very thin layers of porcelain that are bonded to your natural teeth. Once in place, the veneers look and function just like all of the other teeth in your mouth.

If you need fillings in teeth that show when you smile, they can be filled with tooth-colored fillings. These fillings are matched to the color of your teeth so that they blend in with the tooth they are repairing and with all of your other teeth as well.

And sometimes it just takes small changes in the shape of your teeth to bring them from unattractive or imperfect to perfect and beautiful. When that’s the case, your dentist can use a procedure called tooth contouring or reshaping to remove a small amount of your tooth to reshape it or even smooth out angles or edges. And if any natural flaws in your teeth need to be covered, a process called bonding can be used where a plastic sculpting-like material is placed over the tooth and molded to give it the desired look and shape. Then a high-intensity light hardens the plastic and the surface is polished, leaving you with a strong, perfect but natural-looking tooth.

If your teeth appear very long or you have what is sometimes referred to as a “gummy smile” where you have more gum showing than teeth when you smile, your dentist can use gum contouring processes. With these procedures, gum tissue can be removed or sculpted to create the desired look.

If you have missing teeth, one tooth—or several teeth—can be replaced with the use of dental implants. With an implant, a titanium screw is placed into the bone where your tooth once was. This screw acts like a tooth root and stimulates both the bone and the gum tissue to keep them alive, the way the natural tooth root did. An abutment, which appears above the gum line, is fastened to the implanted screw and a crown that looks and acts like a natural tooth is placed on the abutment. Implants can be used for single teeth or several implants can be used to secure bridges, partials or even full dentures.

Thanks to the many processes and procedures available in dentistry today, even if you weren’t born with beautiful, perfect teeth, you can have them. Your dentist can help you have healthy teeth and an attractive smile no matter what shape your natural teeth might now be in.