Heading into prime party season you may want to give your teeth a little something to get them ready for all the festivities. After all, you may be doing things such as having your nails done or getting your hair styled. You could be having a little Botox here or there or having a facial.
But what about your smile? It wants to look great and gleaming whether you’re meeting new people at the office holiday party or seeing a bevy of relatives at family get-togethers.
At Gentle Dental, we’re all about keeping your smile in tiptop shape. So, here are some procedures/treatments you may want to consider heading into December.
- Bonding— Dental bonding involves taking tooth-colored resin (a durable mix of plastic and glass) and applying it to the teeth to cover imperfections, excessive staining, chips, gaps, and other cosmetic issues. Your Gentle Dental dentist applies the resin in layers, hardening the resin of each layer with a special light. The process involves a certain amount of sculpting, particularly in cases where a chip or a gap is to be filled. The end result is a dramatically improved smile. Plus, since bonding deals only with the outside surfaces of the teeth, no anesthesia is required, and the process can be done in a single appointment.
- Porcelain veneers— Porcelain veneers are thin shells of porcelain that are applied to the outside of your teeth to cover imperfections such as chips, stains, uneven teeth, gaps, and other cosmetic problems. Veneers offer a longer-term solution compared to bonding. To make room for the veneers, we first remove a small amount of the tooth enamel; then the veneer is applied onto the tooth. These veneers are custom fabricated at a dental lab to precisely fit your teeth and match the color. Opting for veneers, however, is a lifelong commitment due to the shaving off of the enamel prior to placing the veneers. Because of this, when your veneers reach their lifespan, they will need to be replaced with new veneers.
- Porcelain crowns— A crown is placed over the top of a tooth to return strength to the tooth. Whether the tooth has extensive decay or is cracked, a crown fits over the top all the way down to the gumline, making it strong again. Porcelain crowns permit light transmission through the body of the tooth, creating a completely natural appearance, plus the porcelain resists staining.
- Tooth whitening— Whether your teeth are stained from drinking coffee and red wine, or whether they’re just yellowing with age, at Gentle Dental we offer in-office teeth whitening that can bring them back several shades.
- Invisalign— If the alignment of your teeth is an issue, we may recommend the Invisalign system. Invisalign straightens your teeth without the metal bands, brackets, and wires involved with typical braces. Instead, Invisalign uses clear, removable acrylic aligners. These trays fit over your teeth and are virtually invisible to anyone looking at your mouth. The trays are worn for two weeks, and then are discarded and the next tray in the progression is worn.
Is it time to give your smile a little pampering? Call us at Gentle Dental (732) 549-5660 and let’s talk.
