What is cosmetic dentistry?
Cosmetic dentistry is a modern oral care method that enhances the appearance of your teeth, mouth, and gum area, giving you a redefined smile. It primarily focuses on augmenting dental aesthetics by altering your smile's color, shape, alignment, and overall appearance.
Cosmetic dentistry helps you achieve a bright and beautiful smile while caring for your vital oral care issues. It also has certain therapeutic benefits. You can see a cosmetic dentist if your teeth are decayed, crooked, cracked, chipped, misaligned, missing, discolored, or damaged. Apart from affecting your facial appearance, these conditions can make eating and speaking difficult.
Although cosmetic dentistry is gaining popularity, it is still not considered a recognized specialty by the American Dental Association. Hence, dental programs do not have a degree course in cosmetic dentistry.
Educational qualifications of cosmetic dentists
Aspiring cosmetic dentists enroll in a four-year dental school program, where they study subjects like dental history and law, oral medicine, orthodontics (deals with aligning teeth with braces and other methods), pain management, and cosmetic dentistry. They must then acquire a medical license to practice. Some also opt for accreditation to lend further credibility to their professional pursuits.
What is the difference between a general dentist and a cosmetic dentist?
Your general dentist aims to provide primary dental care. They offer restorative dentistry procedures such as dental fillings, crowns, and bridges. They also offer preventive care like teeth cleanings and recommendations on maintaining oral hygiene. Many dental procedures restore not only health and function but also appearance.
A cosmetic dentist, on the other hand, primarily helps improve your smile. They perform procedures designed to make your teeth and gums look better, creating a balanced, symmetrical, and pleasing smile.
Benefits of cosmetic dentistry
The following are some benefits of cosmetic dentistry procedures:
- Enhances your smile: Cosmetic dentistry helps you change a feature of your smile that has always bothered you. Various procedures fall under the umbrella of this area of dentistry. Your cosmetic dentist can use it to fix any issues with your smile and make you feel and look better.
- Improves oral health: Cosmetic dentistry can also help to make your oral health better. Straight, uniformly shaped teeth are more uncomplicated to floss and brush properly, with fewer tight areas where plaque could accumulate. It reduces your chances of developing periodontal disease, tooth decay, and other dental health issues.
- Useful for bite correction: Invisalign treatment will straighten your crooked teeth, enhance the look of your smile, and resolve any bite problems. A poor bite can lead to several issues, including uneven tooth wear, recurrent headaches, pain, and jaw joint stiffness. You can prevent these issues, maintain your comfort, and extend the good health of your teeth by visiting the best cosmetic dentist near you.
- Allows you to remove stains from teeth: While everyone wants bright white teeth, many people's teeth look discolored because of a layer of surface stains. Teeth whitening and veneers are two cosmetic dentistry procedures that can restore teeth to their natural shade.
Common cosmetic dentistry treatments
A cosmetic dentist can perform several treatments and procedures, such as :
Indirect fillings, laboratory-made fillings, inlays, and overlays are used when an over-decayed tooth coupled with structural deficiency can't support a typical filling. If the tooth cusp is in proper condition, inlays are directly placed onto the tooth surface. However, if the cusp or a significant chunk of the tooth is damaged, cosmetic dentists use onlays to cover the entire tooth surface.
Earlier, they were made of gold, but they are now made in laboratories with porcelain or ceramic composites and are attached to the tooth with adhesive cement. The process restores the shape and reduces the risk of further damage by strengthening the tooth.
Composite or dental bonding is a technique where the dentist applies moldable resin resembling the tooth enamel color and later hardens it using ultraviolet light. They drill out the tooth decay, apply the composite to the tooth's surface, and trim, shape, and polish the material to ensure it fits in with the tooth structure and surroundings. Bonding covers the damaged surface and gives your tooth a new and healthy look. Typically one of the cheapest cosmetic dentistry procedures, this method is effective for cracks, chips, decay, and discoloring of the teeth.
Certain foods, drinks, medications, and tobacco consumption can result in discoloration of your teeth. Cosmetic dentistry can restore the whiteness in your teeth and enhance them beyond their original state. Teeth whitening is a prevalent cosmetic treatment that uses simple and inexpensive methods to bring back the brightness of your smile.
The dentist first removes plaque, tartar, and other unnecessary substances from the teeth before applying a bleaching agent to lighten their shade. Over-the-counter products like rinses, toothpaste, and whitening strips are also effective in tooth whitening to a limited extent. However, professional dental care can give you 5 to 8 times better results.
Cosmetic dental crowns, or caps, are made of porcelain or acrylic. These custom-made caps are blended with metal to make them strong enough to withstand biting pressure and help cover badly damaged, chipped, or ill-shaped teeth. They also fill excess gaps between teeth.
Dental veneers are thin coverings of medical-grade ceramic, resin, or porcelain. The practitioners apply them to the front of the teeth using a dental adhesive. The veneers give a realistic look to your damaged teeth and effectively cover crooked or cracked teeth, eroded enamel, and gaps between teeth.
Dental implants are screw-like medical devices fixed into the jaw where a tooth is missing or damaged. This titanium screw is an anchor that can support crowns, dentures, bridges, etc. In due course, the implant fuses with the bones and supporting tissues and becomes permanently secure.
Also known as enamel shaping, under this procedure, the dentist can help reshape the tooth by removing unwanted enamel or refiling, as required. Teeth shaping is a nearly painless procedure that can give instant results.
- Cosmetic orthodontic treatment
Though traditionally consulted for kids' treatment, orthodontists can handle adult issues like bucked or crooked teeth. Cosmetic orthodontics can produce excellent results.
Laser gum bleaching removes dark patches on the gum area surrounding your teeth. Also referred to as gingival hyperpigmentation, these black or brown skin splotches result from excess melanin. Non-laser gum bleaching may not work against melanocytes in the long run, but a cosmetic laser procedure can be effective for 20 years or a lifetime.
Foods to avoid for healthy teeth
Here are the worst foods you must avoid to keep your teeth healthy.
Carbonated soda increases the acidity levels in the mouth, affecting the tooth enamel. Moreover, the mouth becomes dry, increasing the risk of gum disease and tooth decay. Dark color soda can even stain or discolor your teeth. Therefore, avoid carbonated drinks and drink more water, as it will keep your mouth clean and hydrated.
Any type of candy is unhealthy for the teeth and gums. Sour candies contain different acids that can affect your teeth. They are chewy and can stick to the teeth for extended periods, causing plaque build and tooth decay. If you love sweets, choose chocolates, which are easy to chew and quickly wash away.
Though ice is made of water, chewing it can damage your tooth enamel and increase the chances of a dental emergency. Chewing hard substances can result in broken, chipped, or cracked teeth or loose crowns. If you use ice to chill your beverages, avoid chewing it. You could drink your beverages without ice or use chilled water instead.
Bread and saliva mix in the mouth to form a gummy or sticky substance that could enter the crevices between the teeth. Further, the saliva breaks down the starch into sugar. If the mouth is not cleaned correctly after eating, the leftover sugar deposits on the teeth could cause cavities. Therefore, avoid eating bread and opt for whole wheat foods with less sugar that don't stick to the teeth.
Potato chips contain a lot of starch, which could stick to the crevices between your teeth, forming plaque and resulting in tooth decay. Therefore, avoid eating chips or other fried products. If you do eat, wash and floss your mouth and teeth thoroughly to remove the sticky leftovers from the teeth.
Alcohol is unhealthy for your body, including the teeth and gums. Saliva keeps your teeth healthy by washing away leftover food particles and preventing foods from sticking to the teeth. Alcohol intake makes the mouth dry, which increases the chances of gum disease, oral infections, and tooth decay. Therefore, avoid drinking alcohol, drink lots of water, and use oral hydration and fluoride rinses to keep your mouth hydrated.
How do you find the best cosmetic dentist near you in San Diego, CA?
A dazzling smile adds to your happiness quotient and your self-esteem and confidence. Cosmetic dentistry can work wonders to revive your lost smile or give you a unique look. However, delicate procedures need expert handling, and consulting with an experienced dentist for your cosmetic procedures is crucial.
You can search for some of the best cosmetic dentists in San Diego, California, using Zocdoc. Our physician profiles include educational qualifications, professional certifications, hospital affiliations, awards, and licensures. You can also filter them based on the provider's gender, language, and the insurance plans they accept.
Furthermore, you can access verified ratings and reviews from previous patients. Once decided, you can use Zocdoc's seamless booking process to schedule an online or in-person consultation based on the availability of the cosmetic dentist near you. All bookings through Zocdoc are accessible, secure, and completely free.
Statistics on cosmetic dentistry in California and USA
Referring to a 2015 survey by the American Dental Association, nearly 23% of adults reduce their social engagement due to issues with their smile, while approximately 33% of the youth population is reluctant to smile due to their teeth condition. A Raconteur study reveals that around 14% of the US population (nearly 45 million) have undergone teeth whitening procedures.
As per Atlantic Dental Group, about 2 million people had dental implants in California in 2018. San Diego was one of the cities with cheaper rates for the procedure, with the average cost of an implant around $3500. iData Research estimated the US and overseas market size to be around $318 million in 2021 and is expected to cross nearly $320 million by 2027.
Sources
WebMD
Verywell Health
Colgate
Pennsylvania Center for Dental Implants and Periodontics
Dream Smile Dental Clinic
Raconteur
Atlantic Dental Group
iData Research
Smile Xpressions
Cleveland Clinic
Healthline
