Millions of Americans are afraid to smile.
This may be for a variety of reasons, but the primary one is this: They are embarrassed by the condition of their mouth or teeth. Unfortunately, time, bad habits, smoking, accidents and other injuries can damage your mouth or teeth, causing unsightly damage and extensive embarrassment at the thought of cracking a smile.
If this is you, don’t worry, there’s hope: A cosmetic dentist can help fix your mouth, teeth and make sure that you have a healthy, beautiful smile.
What can a cosmetic dentist do for you? Here’s a look.
What is a Cosmetic Dentist?
Simply put, the job of a cosmetic dentist is to deal with the way your teeth, mouth, and smile look. Having healthy teeth is great, but if you are looking to make sure your teeth and gums look great, then a Cosmetic Dentist is for you.
Cosmetic dentistry involves quite a few dental services. Broadly speaking, a good cosmetic dentist can clean your teeth, straighten them, whiten them and even alter their size as needed. For more serious problems, a cosmetic dentist make major repairs to your mouth, fully reconstruct it, and repair so that it looks as good as new.
What Can a Cosmetic Dentist Do To Help My Smile?
As you can imagine, a cosmetic dentist can do many things to help your smile. Thankfully, as technology advances, a variety of tools are available.
Major Procedures
For some people, a tweak or cleaning simply isn’t enough. In that case, you may need a total reconstruction of your mouth, which involves significant repair to bring your teeth back to their original state. This may mean you need work to fix broken teeth, fix front teeth, or repair chipped teeth. This can be done ins several ways, including through the installation of crowns or veneers.
A dental crown is essentially a cap placed on your tooth. Crowns can be used to restore your tooth to its original form and size. They can be used for one tooth or several teeth.
If your teeth are simply stained, discolored or badly sized, a cosmetic dentist can also help you by installing veneers. A veneer is a thin cover that fits over your teeth, changing its appearance for the rest of the world.
Another option for people interested in using a cosmetic dentist is the use of dental implants. Dental implants, of course, are used to replace teeth that are completely broken or missing. A good dental implant can be used in place of dentures and allow your mouth to completely return to its normal shape.
Smaller Changes
All of the above sounds scary, right? It certainly doesn’t have to: A professional cosmetic dentist will be able to find solutions for your mouth or teeth that are minimally invasive but contain the maximum impact. Fortunately for you, major dental surgery often isn’t necessary. Sometimes, the smallest changes can make the biggest difference.
So, what can a cosmetic dentist do for you if you want your mouth to look better but don’t want or need to do major work? Here are some options to help give you beautiful teeth.
First, a cosmetic dentist can help you with some discolorations. For many people, a lifetime of bad food habits, smoking or coffee drinking can stain your teeth. Regular visits to your dentist can unquestionably help keep your teeth healthy and clean, but remember, the goal of your regular dental visits is to ensure the health of your teeth, not just their appearance. As such, cosmetic dentistry comes with numerous procedures that are specifically designed to help your teeth look better.
Teeth cleaning can take many forms. For example, there is tooth whitening, which involves the application of gentle chemicals that will break down the grime on your teeth and help them look better. There is also dental bonding, which is best if used for minor chips or cracks in your teeth. With bonding, a bonding agent is applied to your teeth that can fill in the cracks and gaps caused by chipped teeth and wear and tear.
[See Teeth Cleaning Cost in Los Angeles]
In some cases, gum bleaching may be appropriate. Gum bleaching is sometimes natural but often occurs after a lifetime of bad eating habits, smoking or skin disorders. With gum bleaching, the color of your gums can be lightened so they are more in-line with the rest of your mouth. This stops them from being unsightly. When used in combination with a variety of other dental procedures, they can make a major difference in the appearance of your mouth.
Teeth that have more significant damage can benefit from an onlay or inlay. An inlay is an older dental procedure that is used to replace part of a tooth that has been lost to significant decay. They go inside of a tooth. They are still used in some situations but have been largely replaced by onlays. The difference is that onlays can be used in larger sections of a tooth.
Both inlays and onlays are custom made. Unlike older fillings, they are tooth-colored to ensure that they look as natural as possible.
If I’m Interested in a Cosmetic Dentist, How Should I Start?
First, don’t visit a cosmetic dentist in Los Angeles unless they offer a free consultation. Dentists like Dr. Michael Albain offer complimentary consultations because it gives the patient a chance to get comfortable with the idea of cosmetic dentistry and gives Dr. Albain a chance to review all of the potential ways that he can assist you. As you can likely see from the above, there are a variety of potential options when it comes to improving your smile.
That being said, come prepared with an idea of what you are looking to achieve. Do you know what area of your mouth or teeth bothers you the most? What are you looking for out of a cosmetic dental visit? How can our office help you the most?
Additionally, come prepared with questions. Common questions include:
- How permanent will treatment be? Will I need to get it done again in the future?
- What is and isn’t covered by insurance?
- What sort of recovery period is there?
- Will there be any dietary restrictions after a procedure, and how long with those restrictions last?
- How much pain will I be in, and how long will it take for the pain to fade away? Are there any medications I should or shouldn’t take?
Where Can I Find a Cosmetic Dentist in the Los Angeles area?
If you are looking for the best cosmetic dentist in Los Angeles, you’re in luck. At Southland Dental Care, we offer all of the services above and more. Our goal is to offer the best cosmetic dentistry in Los Angeles and help make sure your mouth and teeth are looking gorgeous so you can smile with confidence and ease. Dr. Michael Abaian is one of the best Los Angeles cosmetic dentist out there, and he is here to help you smile with confidence. As such, if you are looking for one of the best Los Angeles cosmetic dentist, call us at 818-788-8787 for a free dental consultation.