Ever wondered about the picture-perfect smiles of Hollywood and Bollywood divas? Where the sparkle almost seems blinding? Modern cosmetic dentistry has come a long way from the time the Etruscans used gold to make dental restorations like the crown or a bridge.
Many other civilizations and cultures seem to have used cosmetic dentistry including the Ancient Egyptians who hammered seashells into their gums to replace the missing tooth. Strangely, in the past dentists collaborated with barbers to take their help in dental surgery. In this era, barbers filled the teeth and created a coating made from acid to make them appear whiter, eventually damaging the enamel.
It was in early 1700s that human teeth were used as dental implants. But they didn’t make good replacements because the human body rejects ‘foreign’ teeth. So, in the 1800s started the process of placing metals in the sockets of lost teeth.
By the late 1800s, there was a vast improvement in prosthetic dentistry that paved the way for contemporary cosmetic dental procedures. From porcelain dentures to the use of plasters to make moulds for better fitting, the cosmetic dentistry business was truly thriving. When Vulcanite was introduced, it made the wearing of dentures easier.
Modern Cosmetic Dentistry
With the 1990s came a new era of dentistry with a focus on beautiful smiles, whiter teeth and pain-free procedures. This new age of aesthetic procedures was in part motivated by the glamour and glitz of performing arts and the movies. The term ‘cosmetic dentist’ was coined and procedures became more advanced and sophisticated.
From teeth whitening, laser teeth whitening, composite dental fillings, and dental bonding to veneers and implants we have certainly come a long way.
Why Cosmetic Dentistry?
Good teeth are not only important for their chewing function but also lend the person a beautiful smile. A smile is one of the most inexpensive ways to improve your look. Yet, many of us hesitate when smiling due to poor teeth structure, discoloration, and many other problems that make us conscious of our smile. Many have such a complex about their smile that they avoid socializing altogether.
Whether it is a job interview that you want to crack, a marriage proposal that you want to win, or many other situations and opportunities a smile can go a mile in winning people over. Now that cosmetic dentistry is more affordable, more people have started to avail of these services to beautify their smiles and improve their oral health.
Thankfully, cosmetic dentistry can transform your personal and professional life by gifting you a beautiful smile.
Technology
Using the latest technology, you can get the smile you desire and with a clinic like Aura Dental Clinic, even avail a smile test drive. In this procedure, we do a thorough smile analysis using digital photography and special software. Then, a smile test drive is conducted to review how you will look post cosmetic treatment.
Wax and composite mockups
Using wax and composite mockups, the final outcome of the treatment is created using a special material and technique.
CAD CAM provisional teeth
Provisional teeth are designed with CAD-CAM acrylic which the patients can wear and test their smiles before the final teeth are designed. At this stage, it is possible to incorporate any changes if they are required. This instils confidence in the patient and factors like the overall look, lip comfort and colour of the teeth are considered.
Digital smile solution
We use a special camera and models and the cosmetic treatment is then designed using computers to get the desired smile.
Bonded Porcelain Restoration
Porcelain inlay and on lay veneer and extensions of porcelain veneer design are an integral part of restorative reconstruction. They help in enhancing the aesthetics of the smile with minimum tooth cutting and are fixed to the teeth with bonding technology.
Many patients are curious regarding the difference between bonded and conventional PFM restorations.
Here are the key differences in a nutshell:
| Bonding | Cementation |
| Natural appearance | Reasonable look
|
| No black margin | Black margins near gums
|
| Great computability with the adjacent natural teeth | Less translucence due to metal backing |
| Needs minimum tooth cutting | Doesn’t match so well with the adjacent natural teeth |
| Requires moderate tooth cutting |
What are the various cosmetic dentistry options?
Bleaching
Teeth whitening is largely considered to be one of the easiest and least expensive techniques to improve one’s smile. The dentists first analyse your teeth and smile to check whether whitening is the appropriate solution for you. Sometimes, there might be a different procedure that’s more suitable for a patient and the dentist will recommend accordingly.
While a number of tooth bleaching and whitening products are available in the market, it is better to opt for a dentist-supervised treatment.
Cleaning and polishing treatment: External stains like tea, coffee, tobacco etc can be removed with this treatment.
Enamel Micro abrasion
Internal stains are removed by using a special abrasive paste followed by polishing.
Bonding:
Composite material of the same colour as the tooth is bonded on broken teeth to fill the gaps and correct dark spots.
Veneers and laminates
A thin layer of composite or ceramic is bonded on teeth to remove irregularities, restoring localized or generalized defects and discolorations. These help in the brightening shade of the teeth, stain correction, and improving the overall tooth shape and the resultant smile.
Metal free crowns
Metal free ceramic restorations as the name suggest don’t’ have a metal framework. They are strong ceramic materials with great optical properties and patients can choose modern material like Zirconium for bio-compatible aesthetics and create restorations that look very natural.
Orthodontic treatment
Severely misaligned teeth are corrected with the use of braces to make them straight and symmetrical and to improve the smile.
For different types of cosmetic problems, one can use various cosmetic dentistry options. We will take a look at these options in our next blog post.
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