What is Dental Aesthetics?
Dental aesthetics are procedures performed to improve the general appearance of the teeth. The main aim of dental aesthetics is to improve teeth alignment and structure and to naturalize their color and shape so that you can smile confidently and have a satisfactory appearance of the mouth.
The results of dental aesthetics are expected to last up to 10 years. But, factors like tooth trauma, teeth grinding and poor oral hygiene can shorten their lifespan.
What is the difference between cosmetic and aesthetic dentistry?
The most important difference between cosmetic and aesthetic dentistry is that cosmetic dentistry mainly focuses on improving the appearance of your teeth using dental procedures, teeth whitening, and veneers.
While aesthetic dentistry focuses on making your teeth look better and also restoring the function of your teeth through treating dental problems like restoring a few missing teeth, which makes you feel more confident with your smile.
Depending on this difference, aesthetic dentistry is considered more reliable
than cosmetic dentistry.
Aesthetic Problems
Chipped and Cracked Teeth: Teeth that are cracked or chipped can become less functioning and more susceptible to decay, as the damage continues to increase over the time.
Discolored Teeth: A problem in which a tooth or all teeth have a color different from the normal white color.
Missing Teeth: Lost teeth cause shifting teeth, bone loss, or neuromuscular problems. Also, this may have a negative psychological effect causing one to avoid smiling.
Gaps Between Teeth: Large or small gaps between a person’s teeth can cause him to be embarrassed, which can make him hide his smile.
Misshapen Teeth: A tooth that is too short, too long, or generally different from the rest of your teeth is considered a misshapen tooth that may cause embarrassment.
Gummy Smile: A problem in which teeth will appear short because their gums have grown further down their teeth than most other people.
Aesthetic Treatments
Some of the most important aesthetic treatments are the following:
Whitening: It is a commonly used dental aesthetic procedure that includes bleaching your teeth for removing external teeth pigmentation. Teeth yellowing can be caused by external factors such as smoking and coffee, or internal factors such as a dying tooth or enamel erosion, and that is what aesthetic dentistry corrects. Laser teeth whitening is a novel dental whitening procedure in which gums are covered with rubber, and hydrogen peroxide bleach is applied to the teeth. Laser teeth whitening is six times more effective than traditional teeth whitening.
Reshaping: Reshaping can be used to correct chips, cracks or misaligned teeth that require the removal of some part of the enamel.
Gum Lifts: It is an aesthetic dental procedure used to correct gummy and toothy smiles by elevating and then sculpting the gum line.
Teeth Straightening: It is a dental aesthetic procedure that is used to fix overlapping, crowded, or widely-spaced teeth, by gradually straightening teeth with retainers or braces.
Veneers: They are cover-like materials that are applied on the front surface of the tooth. They can be used to mask teeth pigmentation, correct the appearance of misalignment, close gaps between teeth and reshape damaged teeth.
Implants: Are screw-like materials that are fitted into the jawbone to support a dental prosthesis.