What is cosmetic dentistry? Who is a cosmetic dentist?
Cosmetic dentistry is a sub-discipline that focuses on improving a patient's smile and self-image. It is also known as aesthetic dentistry. Although cosmetic dentistry is a popularly practiced industry worldwide and in the United States, the American Dental Association still does not recognize it as a specialty. Therefore, universities in the United States do not offer exclusive and specific degree programs for aspiring cosmetic dentists.
A cosmetic dentist is a practitioner of cosmetic dentistry. They may work independently in clinics or cater to clients visiting a hospital. To become cosmetic dentists, individuals must complete an undergraduate degree and enroll in four-year-long dental school programs. Upon completing the program, aspiring cosmetic dentists must seek a medical license and receive accreditation.
What is the difference between family and cosmetic dentistry?
Although family and cosmetic dentistry may have some overlaps, they are fundamentally different. A family dentist is your go-to provider for preventative care services and treatment of minor dental problems. They clean the plaque buildup on your teeth and check for signs of dental conditions such as tooth decay, gum disease, bad breath, sensitive teeth, and dry mouth. They also offer tips to improve your dental routine, lifestyle, and diet for good oral health.
On the other hand, cosmetic dentists mainly focuses on the enhancement the visual appearance of your teeth and gums using advanced dental procedures. Some include bridges, crowns, inlays, onlays, implants, veneers, composite fillings, and teeth whitening. If you need clarification about whether family or cosmetic dentistry will benefit you, check if the provider's expertise and experience align with your needs before booking your appointment.
When should you see a cosmetic dentist near you?
Visit a cosmetic dentist if you have deformed, chipped, discolored, or missing teeth and want to fix them. The cosmetic dentist may suggest simple and sophisticated solutions depending on your desired outcome. Additionally, you can get dental veneers at a cosmetic dentist's clinic if you are unhappy with your smile because of tooth discoloration, crowding, or gaps. Besides cosmetic enhancement, you may want to visit a cosmetic dentist if you have damaged your teeth in an accident or injury and your teeth are cracked, chipped, or missing.
What services does a cosmetic dentist offer?
People consult dentists for a variety of procedures. The standard services they seek are dental implants, bonding, tooth-colored fillings, teeth whitening, dental crowns, and teeth shaping.
Dental implants are medical fixtures that replace your natural teeth after severe decay or tooth loss. Your cosmetic dentist will attach a screw to the jaw for support and insert the implant into the missing tooth's bone socket. After this, the bone and tissue will fuse to the implant, securing the replacement tooth inside the mouth. Over time, the dental implant will blend into the surrounding teeth.
If you opt for dental bonding, your cosmetic dentist will repair chips, cracks, misshapen teeth, and tooth decay. They will apply a moldable resin to the tooth, harden it with UV light, and then trim, shape, and polish the material to merge it into the tooth's surface.
During a tooth-colored filling procedure, your cosmetic dentist will fill the gaps and cracks in your teeth. The fillings consist of resins instead of metal and thus thoroughly blend in your teeth, making them much more subtle than traditional fillings. In contrast, porcelain dental veneers eliminate flaws, including stains, chips, cracks, gaps, and even slightly misaligned teeth. The cosmetic dentist will bond these ceramic coverings to the front of your teeth.
The teeth whitening treatment brightens your teeth. Your cosmetic dentist will give you a customized at-home whitening kit to use daily for a couple of weeks to make your smile up to eight shades whiter. Invisalign treatment gives you a straighter smile without the daily hassles of brackets and wires. To straighten your teeth, your cosmetic dentist will use a nearly invisible series of clear plastic aligner trays instead of metal braces. An enamel abrasion procedure is another way to remove discoloration.
The cosmetic dentist will use fine pumice in a micro-abrasion machine to remove superficial stains caused by tobacco products, wine, soda, and coffee. This technique does not work for intrinsic stains or stains inside the tooth.
Inlays or indirect fillings strengthen teeth, help restore tooth shape, and avoid further decay or deterioration. The cosmetic dentist will place the inlay directly onto the tooth surface when a tooth has mild to moderate decay or poor structure to support a filling.
If you have decayed, broken, or misshapen teeth or have undergone dental treatments such as root canals, fillings, or implants, your dentist will likely fit dental crowns over the affected teeth. Dental crowns are tooth-shaped caps made of porcelain or acrylic infused with metal. It can shield your teeth from further damage and improve your chewing function. With proper care, the crown can last up to 15 years. However, certain hard and sticky foods can break or dislodge the crown. Additionally, improper fitting may lead to bacteria accumulation and decay of the tooth below the crown.
Tooth reshaping is another cosmetic dentistry procedure that treats minor imperfections, including slightly chipped, uneven, or misaligned teeth. It involves removing some of your tooth enamel and reshaping it. Sometimes, the dentist uses a tooth-colored bonding resin to achieve the desired tooth shape. Ideally, you need to have healthy teeth and gums for this procedure.
Aftercare tips for cosmetic procedures
Once you’ve undergone a cosmetic procedure, you must take preventive measures to help maintain your smile and improve treatment outcomes. It will also aid you in the recovery process. Here are a few aftercare tips after you’ve undergone a procedure by a cosmetic dentist:
- Brushing and flossing regularly: Patients with dental crowns and porcelain veneers will greatly benefit from this tip. The dental crowns cover the teeth, while veneers are attached to them. However, brushing is also essential as a daily practice to prevent future dental issues. Brushing will help remove plaque and prevent the decay of teeth, crowns, and veneers. Moreover, you must brush with soft bristles, as tough ones can impair dental crowns and veneers.
- Avoid extremely hot or cold foods: Hot foods can damage dental crowns and cause accidental burns in the mouth. Moreover, getting dental crowns can cause your teeth to become more sensitive initially. You must consult a cosmetic dentist if you feel pain when consuming such foods. They may recommend a sensitive toothpaste to help alleviate the pain.
- Avoid dyed drinks: A good teeth-whitening tip is to limit or avoid dyed drinks like coffee, beer, soda, and red wine. Such drinks can permanently stain your teeth. Additionally, if you have teeth veneers, you must rinse them after taking colored foods or drinks.
- Avoid hard foods: Eating hard or chewy foods when you have porcelain teeth veneers can cause damage and chip them. People may also unknowingly swallow the chips by accident. Hence, you must avoid hard foods that can easily crack the teeth. You must also ensure to eat your food in small bites. Reach out to your cosmetic dentist if your teeth veneers have cracked.
- Schedule regular dental visits: Visiting a dentist can help keep your teeth veneers or dental crowns in perfect condition. They can also help prevent your teeth from decaying and perform a thorough cleaning. Accordingly, visiting a cosmetic dentist can also help them track your treatment condition and make any necessary changes.
Benefits of cosmetic dentistry
Cosmetic dentistry offers a plethora of advantages beyond just aesthetics. Let us explore the transformative perks it brings:
- Enhanced smile: Cosmetic dentistry is a broad field encompassing a multitude of treatments tailored to address various concerns about your smile, ultimately aiming to enhance your appearance. Cosmetic dentists can utilize these treatments to help you achieve the smile you desire, leaving you looking and feeling your best.
- Better oral health: Properly aligned teeth facilitate better oral hygiene practices. When teeth are correctly aligned, brushing and flossing become easier, reducing the risk of cavities, gum disease, and other oral health issues.
- Confidence boost: Feeling conscious about your smile can significantly impact your social interactions. Cosmetic dentistry corrects dental flaws, empowering you to embrace life more positively without hiding your teeth or feeling embarrassed.
- Long-lasting results: Cosmetic dentistry not only gives immediate satisfaction but also provides long-term contentment. Many cosmetic procedures offer lasting results that stand the test of time, reducing the need for frequent touch-ups.
- Youthful radiance restoration: Our smiles may lose brightness and develop imperfections like stains or chips as we age. Cosmetic dentistry offers various options, such as bonding or crowns, to reduce the appearance of wear, contributing to a more youthful look.
- Bite improvement: Correcting bite irregularities is essential for oral function and comfort. Cosmetic dentistry addresses bite issues, ensuring teeth come together correctly for improved chewing and speech.
- Stain removal solutions: Stubborn tooth stains can be challenging to remove with over-the-counter products alone. Professional whitening treatments and veneers erase stains, leaving a dazzling, confident smile behind.
- Teeth reshaping excellence: Even minor imperfections in tooth shape or size can detract from the overall appearance of your smile. Cosmetic dentistry offers tailored solutions to refine tooth contours.
- Fix chipped tooth: A chipped tooth not only impacts the appearance of your smile but can also compromise oral health if left untreated. Cosmetic dentistry seamlessly repairs chipped teeth, restoring both appearance and function.
- Replace missing teeth: Missing teeth can impact oral function and self-confidence. Cosmetic dentistry offers various options for replacing missing teeth, including implants, bridges, and dentures, restoring aesthetics and function.
Where can you find the best cosmetic dentistry services near you in Phoenix, Arizona?
Eating, drinking, and speaking may be challenging if you have decaying, crooked, or discolored teeth. Your teeth condition may also affect your self-esteem. In such cases, looking for qualified dentists to consult can be helpful, and Zocdoc does precisely that.
Find the best provider in cosmetic dentistry near you by entering your location, condition, specialty, and preferred appointment date in the search query. Zocdoc's comprehensive healthcare directory accesses top-rated and experienced cosmetic dentists near you. Each profile displays the doctor's educational qualifications, board certificates, clinical interests, specializations, practice history, certifications, and spoken languages. It also informs you about previous patient ratings and reviews. You can further filter hundreds of cosmetic dentists based on your unique case requirement and gender preference.
Zocdoc also helps make your insurance submitting process hassle-free by letting you filter cosmetic dentists according to those who accept your plan. Add your insurance carrier's name in the search query to utilize this feature. If you need clarification on your insurance plan, Zocdoc's insurance detector can help you. Alternatively, you can update your Zocdoc account’s insurance information and get auto-filtered results of in-network cosmetic dentists. You can also use Zocdoc's insurance card capture feature to submit your medical insurance information before making an appointment. To do so, visit the Zocdoc app and upload a picture of your health plan card. It will help provide filtered results automatically. Check out Zocdoc’s patient help center for more insurance-related FAQs.
Once you've selected the best cosmetic dentist near you in Phoenix, Arizona, you can click on the book appointment option. Zocdoc will assist you in instantly booking an appointment for your first session. Zocdoc allows you to book video appointments before in-person visits to understand your cosmetic dentist better. Look for a purple video icon on your doctor's profile, or filter the video appointment selection. All bookings with Zocdoc are entirely free, fast, and secure.
Statistical overview of tooth decay and dental visits in Arizona
According to the CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System's findings for 2020, about 61.2% of adults in Arizona reported visiting a dentist or dental clinic in 2019. The corresponding figure for the general United States population stood at over 66.7%.
Arizona Healthy Smiles Healthy Bodies, a 2015 Arizona Department of Health Services survey, suggests that around 52% of kindergarten children in Arizona have a history of tooth decay. The findings for Arizona ranked higher than the United States national average for children aged five, which stood at approximately 36%.
Moreover, the survey found that almost two out of three third-grade children in Arizona have a history of tooth decay. Statistics for Arizona stood at nearly 64%, around 12% higher than corresponding findings for third-grade children of the general U.S. population, which stood at almost 52%. More than one-fourth of Arizona's kindergarten and third-grade children (≈28%) have untreated tooth decay, slightly higher than the United States national average of 22%. About 44% of Arizona's third-grade children have a minimum of one dental sealant on a permanent molar tooth, which is higher than the general United States third-grade population statistics (≈32%).
Sources
WebMD[1]
WebMD[2]
Colgate
Forbes
Arizona Department of Health Services
America's Health Rankings
Cleveland Clinic
Verywell Health
Healthline
Dentrix Dental Care
Trillium Smile Dentistry
Dental Arts of Bedford
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