Cosmetic Dentistry Options to Brighten Your Teeth

If one or many of your teeth are stained or just not as white as you would like, cosmetic dentistry can help tremendously. In fact, there are several procedures used for this very reason. If you are ready to get white teeth that you can be proud of, you should learn about a few procedures that can brighten up your smile.

If all your teeth are yellow or gray, or just not quite as white as you would like, your best cosmetic dentistry option would be bleaching. Most practitioners in this industry can bleach your teeth in just a few visits, so your smile can get visibly brighter with every appointment. It is not painful so you do not need any local anesthetic or drugs, and each visit should not take long. In most cases, it involves applying whitening gel and a rubber tray that has been customized just for your mouth. Though many patients are pleased with the results, note that insurance does not pay for the procedure since it is elective and only serves to improve the look of your smile. However, you can usually find coupons that offer free or discounted whitening when you purchase another service.

You may have just one tooth that is partially or fully stained, typically from either medication you took in the past or trauma that affected the roots. If so, you can usually whiten it up using a veneer, which is a tool that is commonly used in cosmetic dentistry. This is a white material that is placed right over the tooth that needs to be treated. Covering it up with material that looks exactly the same as healthy teeth, even from close up, can get you a mouth free of any signs of stains. Many dental insurance plans cover some of the cost of veneers, so look into this option if you do not want to pay the whole price.

Another option for covering up a stain is bonding, in which composite material is attached to the tooth that you want to fix. This works when there is no other damage to the area, as the roots are healthy and it is just the surface you want to fix. This is sometimes covered by insurance, but even if it is not, know that it is cheaper than a veneer in most cases, and it is easy to apply. You can usually get bonding done to more than one tooth if you need it, so consider how many stains you have in your smile before calculating the cost of this type of cosmetic dentistry procedure.

You should talk to your dentist about your options. Together, you can usually decide what you need and what you can afford. If you need several procedures done to get a perfect smile, you may be required to have a few different visits. However, this may be best for your budget since some treatments are not covered by dental insurance, and spreading out expenses over a few months may be the only way for many patients to pay.