I love the shows on HGTV that involve home renovations. The ‘stars’ of the shows have the ability to look at a room and envision how it can be improved for better appearance, livability and efficiency. These experts can SEE what will work best before starting work so they can plan out the many steps involved.
Finding the right ‘expert’ for a new smile is similar.
Having a beautiful smile does much more than enhance facial appearance. An attractive smile tends to boost one’s confidence and self-esteem. It projects an image to others that relays positive traits, such as good health, being outgoing, and even being successful!
Dr. Barbat with happy, relaxed patient.
Today’s cosmetic dentistry can recreate any smile to one that looks beautiful. In the right hands, that is. When you entrust the look, feel and function of your smile makeover to a dentist who has advanced skills and training, you are making a wise investment.
Having something ‘done right’ the first time is mandatory when it comes to achieving a beautiful smile. Over the years, I’ve seen new patients who had a dentist redo their smiles for bargain rates. For example, one patient had two noticeably wide front teeth. I learned her dentist added bonding material to each front tooth to fill the gap between them leaving her with a silly-looking smile.
Another new patient arrived to share how unhappy he was with the length of his ‘new teeth.’ I learned he had worn many front teeth down from night-time grinding. While the dentist placed porcelain crowns on each, he failed to recreate the patient’s smile so it was more flattering, leaving him with short teeth still.
True esthetic dentistry requires being able to envision what will work best for each patient and then creating planning it out. To communicate this, we do what we call a ‘wax up.’ This is a model of your new teeth so you can see how they’ll look before beginning treatment. And, it provides you with a plan based upon a combination of procedures chosen specifically for your best smile.
For example, for patients who want a brighter smile in addition to more attractive teeth, we recommend whitening before having crowns or veneers placed. For those who have attractively-shaped teeth but have crowding, we may advise straightening teeth prior (through Invisalign or traditional orthodontics). This moves teeth into proper positions and may decrease the number of teeth that need crowning or veneers.
In some smiles, the front four or six teeth may be all that need esthetic enhancement while other people need the front eight or ten involved in treatment. This is based on how widely an individual smiles to ensure all teeth blend in with one another.
Some teeth may do fine with bonding while others may need veneers or crowns, or a combination. Gum tissues may also require re-contouring so the smile line above teeth provides a balanced look.
As you can see, knowing what may work best for individual smiles takes experience and skills. It’s never a one-size-fits-all process. When selecting your cosmetic dentist, remember that there is more to a smile than putting crowns and veneers on teeth. There is shape, shade and size as well as bite alignment.
Let’s also talk about bite alignment for a minute. When teeth are not in proper alignment, this can create stress and strain on the jaw joints. Many people fail to associate headaches, migraines, chipped or worn teeth, clenching, grinding, ear ringing or dizziness with the TMJ, which are the joints just in front of each ear that connect the lower jaw to the skull.
By incorporating proper bite alignment techniques into treatment, you can avoid problems associated with TMJ disorders. These steps help to protect your investment and support your overall oral health.
Having the very best smile for your facial features and your oral health requires many skills. Never shop for a ‘bargain’ when it comes to your smile. Choose your cosmetic dentist based upon training, skills, experience and the treatment plan that will give you a look you’ll love! Your smile is too important to short-change!
Call 586-739-2155 to schedule a fee consultation to discuss your smile!
