What Is Considered a Smile Makeover?

If you’re concerned about unsightly teeth, a single cosmetic dental treatment can often work wonders for your appearance and self-esteem. But a series of aesthetic procedures can achieve truly spectacular results. This is known as a smile makeover or smile remodel.

A custom smile remodel uses a variety of procedures to enhance appearance of teeth that are stained or discolored, chipped, or crooked. If you have gaps in your smile following tooth loss, your Irving dentist can fix that with natural-looking artificial teeth. A smile makeover treatment can improve your oral health as well as your appearance. Many cosmetic dentistry procedures restore teeth to full function at the same time.

Types of Smile Makeover Procedures

Dental Concepts & Orthodontics offers a comprehensive range of advanced cosmetic dental procedures that can be used in a smile makeover.

These treatments include:

• Teeth whitening.
• Dental veneers.
• Dental bridges.
• Dentures.
• Dental implants.
• Dental crowns.
• Invisalign or Fastbraces to straighten teeth.

Teeth Whitening Treatment

Professional teeth whitening is a safer, faster, and more effective alternative to over-the-counter teeth bleaching products. Your Irving emergency dentist uses the Philips Zoom Advanced Power system, which takes in-office teeth whitening to a new level. Teeth are five to 10 shades brighter within 60 minutes.

Treatment entails applying a hydrogen peroxide gel to the teeth. A bright Zoom LED (light-emitting diode) light activates the peroxide so it can penetrate the tooth surface. This accelerates the whitening process and lifts stains through oxidization, without compromising tooth structure.

This is a gentle procedure, and your gums, lips and inner lining of the cheeks are protected to prevent any irritation. You can also whiten your teeth in your home with our Zoom whitening trays.

Porcelain Dental Veneers

Porcelain dental veneers are often combined with other cosmetic dentistry procedures to create a smile remodel. The cosmetic dental treatment of choice for celebrities, veneers are ultra-thin shells that are bonded onto the front of teeth. They’re customized from an impression of your mouth, and can conceal a broad range of dental imperfections, including stained, chipped, or cracked teeth.

Veneers can also be used to:

• Reshape or resize teeth.
• Make teeth appear straighter.
• Close gaps between teeth.
• Fix minor teeth crowding.

Veneers match the shape and color of surrounding teeth to blend seamlessly in your smile. They also give your teeth an extra layer of protection.

Dental Lumineers

Dental Concepts & Orthodontics also offers veneer treatment with Lumineers. A landmark in cosmetic dentistry, Lumineers are a brand of dental veneers introduced in 2004 using patented Cerinate porcelain. They’re digitally designed to be as slim as a contact lens. This means no trimming of enamel is usually necessary to prepare the tooth.

Dental Bridges

Dental bridges enhance smiles by filling gaps left by missing teeth. Bridges can replace one tooth or a section of teeth. The artificial teeth are fused to a frame, and the bridge eases stress on the bite function.

A bridge can be secured with dental crowns placed on teeth either side of the gap. Or implants can be used to anchor the bridge. The middle part of the bridge contains the replacement tooth or teeth. Just one missing tooth can leave an unappealing gap in your smile, and a dental bridge fills this void with a natural-looking synthetic tooth that helps restore your natural smile.

Dentures

Removable dentures are the standard treatment to improve oral functionality and restore smiles when several teeth or all the teeth are missing. Dentures improve self-confidence by ending the embarrassment of tooth loss, and they enable you to eat and speak properly.

Thanks to advances in denture technology and techniques, today’s dentures are a vast improvement on those worn by previous generations. Modern dentures fit comfortably and look natural and provide a reliable solution to the various concerns associated with missing teeth.

Implant-Supported Dentures

While standard dentures are held in place by adhesive and natural suction, dentures can also be secured on dental implants. A key benefit of implant-supported dentures is that they avoid jawbone loss associated with regular dentures. (More about this next).

Dental Implants

If you’ve lost one or more teeth, dental implants have many advantages over other tooth replacement methods. Dental implants function, look and feel like natural teeth, and are unique in dentistry in promoting jawbone growth to maintain facial structure.

Unlike traditional dentures and bridges, implants combine with jaw bone to create a synthetic tooth root. Jawbone deteriorates without stimulus from a tooth root, and this affects facial structure and appearance. Implants can be used instead of or in conjunction with bridges and dentures. Because they become part of your jaw, dental implants provide a permanent solution to tooth loss.

Dental Crowns

Porcelain dental crowns repair and strengthen damaged teeth and restore natural shape, size, and color. Crowns are tooth caps that are customized to match adjacent teeth. They’re often used in a smile makeover to improve the appearance of front teeth.

A crown covers the entire surface of a tooth and provides a versatile cosmetic dentistry treatment that can:

• Repair extensive tooth decay when a filling would be insufficient.
• Repair physical dental damage.
• Restore worn-down teeth.
• Protect a tooth after root canal treatment.
• Widen or lengthen teeth.
• Provide the finishing touch to a dental implant.
• Secure dental bridges.
• Enhance the appearance of an old, tarnished filling.

Like porcelain veneers, porcelain crowns look natural because they reflect light in the same way as dental enamel.

Invisalign

Invisalign provides a hi-tech alternative to conventional braces, and they’re the most popular removable orthodontic appliance. As part of a smile makeover, Invisalign clear plastic aligner trays straighten teeth conveniently and comfortably, and they’re practically invisible in the mouth.

The removability of Invisalign appliances also means they’re better for your oral health than fixed braces, which can make effective brushing and flossing difficult. Not all teeth are moved at the same time with Invisalign, which provides greater control than regular braces.

Fastbraces

Invisalign may not be a good option in cases of more complex orthodontic problems. As an alternative, we offer Fastbraces. These fixed braces can straighten teeth in about three months, with visible results in a matter of days. This is possible because, unlike conventional braces, Fastbraces are designed to reposition the crowns of teeth at the same time as the roots.

Smile Makeovers Services at Dental Concepts & Orthodontics

Combining dental expertise with aesthetic artistry, Dental Concepts & Orthodontics uses advanced cosmetic dentistry techniques to create an amazing smile makeover. Your Irving dentist can help you decide which types of cosmetic dental procedures could perfect your smile. For a smile makeover consultation, contact our Irving dental office.