Today’s dentistry can lighten, straighten and enhance smiles so they are healthy and vibrant looking. A bright straight smile is almost expected in our culture. A smile that lacks those qualities becomes a visual distraction that has negative impact. Like cosmetic surgery, the results can be quite natural or “stretched.” Enhancement can blend in or draw attention to itself. The choice is or should be, the patients. Most of my patients seek a vibrant, healthy look that still looks real and doesn’t overly draw attention to itself. The goal is for friends to say, “You look great! What did you do? New hair, working out?” I have a patients that say, “I want super bright” or even ,”fake white.” That’s ok, because enhancement is about making good choices for yourself. We try to help our patients do that, by giving enough information for them to make intelligent choices that suite their life.
When I analyze a smile, the first thing I ask is, “Are there any visual distractors?” Color, shape, proportion, length, alignment, gumlines, and lip frame are all important factors. Most of us can tell the visual distractor if we pay attention to where our eye travels when we look at a smile. That is the key to solving the problem. Some people don’t have a distractor and simply desire enhancement. The possibilities are great.
Bleaching is a way to lighten natural tooth enamel. Home and in-office systems can both be successful. Subtle reshaping of natural teeth can improve and freshen the smile. Bonding can close smaller spaces and improve the shape of teeth. Porcelain can almost magically change a smile. Veneers are a new outer face on the teeth. Crowns wrap all the way around teeth. Often, we take a hybrid approach, resurfacing the front surface, biting edge and even the in-between surfaces without going all the way around the tooth. The more natural tooth we keep the better.
One question we often address is ,”How many teeth should be done?” That is a highly personalized question. My preference is to treat as few teeth as possible. Working on a single front tooth is one of the most challenging things in dentistry. It sometimes takes a couple try-in steps to ensure an excellent result. Doing two, four or six teeth is quite common. If we want a brighter and perhaps wider look to fill the smile, then we add one to three teeth on each side. So, it all varies greatly; again depending on the patients goals and desire.
