Cosmetic Dentistry
Smiles matter more than we realize. Volumes of research confirm the influential role of smiles in our relationships and our self-esteem. If you’re confident, you smile more. If you smile more, you feel more confident. But what if you don’t want to flash those pearly whites because you’re embarrassed? The effects of an unattractive smile may ripple through your life. Fortunately, a growing range of options enables anyone to enjoy a stunning new smile. Our doctors passion for enhancing smiles brings you the best in modern dentistry.
Cosmetic dental treatments can:
- Brighten stained or discolored teeth
- Repair cracks or fractures
- Fill gaps between teeth
- Correct overcrowding
- Reshape teeth
- Replace missing teeth
- Replace old metallic restorations, such as fillings and crowns
Porcelain Veneers
Custom-crafted to each tooth, veneers provide an artist’s touch to your smile. Regardless of your vision for your smile, chances are veneers can help. When today’s modern materials meet our passion for cosmetic excellence, you’ll be amazed at what you see smiling back at you in the mirror.
At Next Gen Dental, watching patients see their brilliant new smile for the first time is the highlight of our day. Sometimes referred to as instant orthodontics, veneers can dramatically transform your smile. A set of veneers can correct chips, stains, and even deeply discolored teeth. But they can also alter the length and size of teeth or help give the appearance of a straight tooth where there is not. While it may sound dramatic, it isn’t. Veneers provide a highly conservative approach to esthetic smile makeovers.
Veneers are the ultimate combination of dental art and science, handcrafted and customized to fit your smile. These paper-thin pieces of porcelain bond to the outside of your natural teeth. But just because they’re thin, don’t be fooled. Veneers are highly versatile and can replicate all the complex nuances of a natural tooth.
Good Planning Paves the Way
There’s a lot of diagnostic work and careful planning that goes into a treatment plan that includes veneers. Models, photographs, and digital x-rays allow you and our doctors to create a perfect blueprint to guide your treatment from start to finish. Like all successful projects, this planning can’t be compromised. Our doctors will consider your input and incorporate your desires into your veneer case, from color to shape and everything in between.
The Next Steps
Once our doctors plan your case, it will take around two appointments before you leave with a stunning new smile. At the first visit, the teeth are gently prepared to allow space for the ultra-thin porcelain to be crafted by a master lab technician.
Our doctors will create temporary restorations that mimic the veneers, which you’ll wear for up to three weeks. These temporaries provide a preview of your new smile and lets you try it out to see if any further changes are needed.
Delivering the Magic
After your veneers have been masterfully crafted to our doctors’ specific instructions, you’ll return for a second appointment. Our doctors will try in each veneer and evaluate the appearance and fit. They will go through several steps to precisely bond the thin veneers to the surface of your teeth, creating an incredibly strong bond between tooth and porcelain. Minor adjustments to your bite and a final polish will leave you with a smile that may have you wondering why you waited so long to find Next Gen Dental.
Composite Fillings
Cavities, chips, and fractures can occur on any tooth surface throughout the mouth. Composite filling material is tooth-colored and provides a versatile solution to many common problems. Blended into a prepared area, the composite polishes to a smooth, undetectable finish.
Cavities and small fractures can cause much larger issues if left untreated. In the past, metal restorations called amalgam fillings (or silver fillings) served a need but left many teeth discolored and strained from the wedging effect of the metal. Today, tooth-colored composite resins blend into the tooth structure and are chemically bonded to the tooth providing a strong, permanent restoration.
Composites serve both functional and aesthetic roles, often at the same time. For example, a cavity invading the front of a tooth along the gum line may be visible in your smile line. By gently cleaning out the soft, discolored area and replacing it with a tooth-colored filling, the tooth is restored and looks better than ever.
Composites contain a mix of liquid resin embedded with finely ground glass particles. After being molded to the prepared tooth structure, a blue light applied directly to the composite hardens the filling material within seconds. Once it’s shaped and polished to a high shine, the restoration is complete.
Teeth Whitening
Nothing boosts your confidence like a terrific smile. Over time, stains can dull the color of your teeth. Professional whitening systems provide the ultimate in whitening results, quickly removing years of discoloration.
If you’re confident, you smile more. If you smile more, you feel more confident. But what if you don’t want to flash your smile because you’re embarrassed by discolored teeth?
Teeth whitening removes years of dingy stains from your teeth. Coffee, tea, wine, tobacco, and chocolate can dull white enamel surfaces. Simple and safe, most patients don’t realize how discolored their teeth are until they see a new smile emerge.
Numerous products crowd supermarket shelves. While we don’t discourage these methods, you may want to consider the advantages of professional whitening:
- Customized system: We offer in-office whitening that removes years of stain in about an hour. We can also make custom trays that fit your teeth for whitening at home. Together we’ll find the right system for your situation. Sometimes we combine the two methods for maximum short and long-term benefits.
- Controlled gel formulas: We use the highest quality whitening formulas available for safety and consistency: professional strength with careful quality control from known sources. Beware of temperature-sensitive gels stored in uncontrolled environments or made in an unknown setting.
- Sensitivity management: You may experience temporary sensitivity in your teeth while whitening. We have specific strategies for you to use, and will customize the product and method to help you have a comfortable and safe whitening experience.
- Long-term results: Buying a box of whitening strips every few months adds up. A session with us in the office can provide almost instant results that may take days and multiple boxes of strips to obtain. Alternatively, you’ll have a system that should fit for years if you leave with custom trays. A simple refill syringe of gel picked up occasionally from our office allows you to keep your smile fresh for years to come.
Teeth whitening offers a predictable boost to your confidence through the power of a smile. Your Next Gen Dental team draws on years of experience to help deliver whitening results that are safe and comfortable.
Porcelain Crowns
Fixing damaged teeth might seem like a lost cause, but there’s often a solid foundation underneath. A crown, or cap, can bring a compromised tooth back to full function. Utilizing modern porcelain materials, you’ll have a difficult time trying to find where the crown ends, and the tooth begins.
Modern dentistry offers more options than ever to help you restore and maintain an optimal level of health. While the strength and beauty of materials continue to advance, the skill of the practitioner makes a significant difference. Our doctors use the latest techniques, bringing even the most damaged mouths back to full health.
Sometimes teeth are damaged because of cavities, heavy bite forces, or trauma. If a root canal is needed to salvage a compromised nerve, the tooth may be especially fragile. Dental crowns, or caps, allow these teeth to be rebuilt and covered with materials that mimic nature. Not only are most “capped” teeth indistinguishable from natural teeth, but they’re also extremely secure and comfortable.
Crowns can be crafted to repair a single tooth, multiple teeth (including the entire mouth), or in conjunction with dental implants to fill a space. In fact, when missing teeth enter the equation, special consideration might be given to placing a dental bridge or implants.
One Simple Step
Today’s technology allows us to simplify the delivery of a crown into just one appointment. After gentle shaping of the tooth, detailed digital images captured by a computer give us the data we need to design your new restoration. In just a few minutes, powerful software coupled with our training creates a crown milled from the finest porcelain available. Once we bond your new crown firmly into place, you’ll be on your way!
Onlays
Teeth rarely fracture predictably. Sometimes a break is too big for a filling, but not big enough for a crown. Porcelain onlays provide an excellent solution for teeth that need extra reinforcement without being covered entirely. Bonded into place, they provide years of natural feel, function, and look beautiful, too.
When we consider the options to preserve even a single broken tooth, we take a conservative approach. Fortunately, modern dental materials allow us to rebuild teeth to full function while maintaining as much natural tooth structure as possible.
Sometimes teeth suffer damage because of normal function over time, cavities, heavy bite forces, and trauma. While teeth may need to be fully “capped” with a dental crown, some smaller fractures can be perfectly restored with an onlay. A crown requires a little more tooth preparation, but onlays allow the unbroken portions of a tooth to be left uncut. A custom piece of porcelain, like a partial crown, is bonded to the damaged area.
Onlays blend seamlessly with the natural enamel and enhance both function and appearance. When the most conservative choice fits your treatment plan, our doctors may suggest an onlay.
Gum Contouring
Your gums are like a soft tissue framework around your teeth providing support and esthetic value. Sometimes a little gentle recontouring of the gum line brings a nice boost to your smile. Plus, properly shaped gums contribute to a healthy environment that is easy to maintain and helps support your overall dental health.
Many factors come together to create a perfect smile. Healthy pink gums form a stark contrast to the white teeth, framing the tooth’s natural beauty.
Sometimes one small area of gum can detract from an otherwise pleasant smile. The scalloped flow may be uneven, or a thick area may protrude unnaturally, causing a visual distraction.
Just as a piece of art benefits from reframing, gums can be contoured to complement the smile. Fortunately, laser technology often makes this procedure quick, painless, and dramatic. The results can be seen immediately, and after a few days of healing, your gums look perfectly natural. In some cases, more extensive contouring may be discussed. Our doctors evaluate many factors before deciding which approach will give you the most beautiful smile.