Enhancing Your teeth

The continued availability of dental treatment over the last 50 years has resulted in the saving of a great many teeth which remain healthy and trouble-free for long periods.

If the teeth have an irregular surface, with chips, abrasions and old fillings which are starting to break down, the best treatment is veneering in porcelain. This will give an excellent shape and surface to the teeth and also has the advantage that the teeth can be made the colour the patient wants.
It can therefore be rather disconcerting to look in the mirror and see a rather unattractive smile.
The possibilities for an improvement are endless, but I have set out some of the most readily available

If the teeth are badly irregular it may be necessary to resort to orthodontics to improve them. Every­one is now familiar with children wearing braces and adult treatment is carried out in much the same way, but normally with more cosmetically accept­able appliances.
If there are missing teeth, perhaps replaced by a denture, these can be replaced by means of a fixed bridge.

Finally, it the teeth are badly broken down by past decay and fillings, or perhaps just worn down by years of use, they can be crowned in porcelain.

The cost is difficult to quantify since each case is so different, but anyone anticipating this sort of work will have a detailed written treatment plan.

If the teeth are of good shape but are merely rather dark, it may be worth considering bleaching. This requires the fabrication of specially fitting trays which are filled with bleaching gel and worn in the mouth overnight for several nights. The teeth will certainly lighten through this treatment and it is quick, simple and relatively inexpensive. It does not however give the patient the ability to choose the final colour they require and usually the degree of lightening is less than has been anticipated.