Cosmetic Dentistry

Visiting us at Eight Creeks Dental twice a year is a good practice to keep your smile strong and healthy. But what about those little things about your smile that makes you feel self-conscious? Stains, yellowing, and minor cracks and chips all come with age and experience. Other issues like tilted, oversized, or undersized teeth are often present from the moment your permanent tooth grows in. All of these issues and more are easily addressed with a visit to the cosmetic dentist. Finding a specialist instead of just relying on your everyday dentist to handle it will yield much better results.

What Makes a Cosmetic Dentist Different?

The cosmetic dentist has all the basic training and education any other dentist needs. They also undergo optional and extra training that is focused on the aesthetic of the smile rather than just its care and maintenance for health purposes. While the average dentist is looking for cavities and concerned about your enamel layers, the cosmetic dentist takes a wider view of the color, alignment, size, and arrangement of your teeth.

They have additional training as an orthodontist to enable them to realign the smile as needed for straighter and more attractive teeth. Or they may just focus on other treatments used to brighten and otherwise improve the appearance of your smile. Yet they’re also concerned about your health, making sure to discover and help treat any underlying conditions that could threaten the long-term beauty of your teeth. Seeing a cosmetic dentist is the best way to address all of the issues you’re experiencing with your dental health at once.

What Procedures Are Offered by Cosmetic Dentists?

Each cosmetic dentist is different and may provide their own portfolio of cutting-edge techniques thanks to specialized training. Some of the popular cosmetic dental procedures offered by most include:

• Professional tooth whitening with far more impressive results and fewer side effects than you’ll get from at-home treatments
• Gum contouring procedures to lower receded gums and remove excess tissue
• Veneers, bonding, and other types of overlay treatment designed to cover the surface of the teeth
• Dental implants and partial dentures to fill in gaps in the smile
• Alignment changes if the dentist is also qualified as an orthodontist
• Shaping and filling for chips, cracks, and other minor forms of damage.

How to Find the Right Cosmetic Dentist in Your Area

Not all cosmetic dentists offer the same procedures or have the same qualifications. For the best results, look into their credentials and which training programs they have completed. If they’re a member of a cosmetic dentistry association, that’s also a good sign. Read real patient reviews on various websites to see what they say about their experiences. It’s best to see real before and after photos of the cosmetic work, both from the dentist and from patients independently reporting their experiences. Look for a smile gallery on the dentist’s website to see what kind of work they specialize in. Of course, make sure their skills match your needs. Seeing a specialist in whitening or dental implants won’t help if that’s not what you need for your smile restoration.

Benefits of Undergoing Cosmetic Dentistry

Cosmetic dentistry can improve your self-esteem by helping restore your smile. Many people find themselves acting much more confidently after solving stubborn stain issues or filling in a gap from a missing tooth. This can improve your career prospects, not to mention helping you make friends and find new romances. Making a few small improvements to your teeth can have a ripple effect that improves your entire life.

Schedule a consultation with our team at Eight Creeks Dental today and we’ll help put together a custom care plan full of recommendations tailored to your smile and your goals for it.

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