A beautiful, confident smile is one of your most powerful assets. It can light up a room, make a great first impression, and boost your self-esteem. If you find yourself hiding your smile because of cosmetic imperfections like stains, chips, gaps, or crooked teeth, modern cosmetic dentistry offers a wide array of incredible solutions to help you achieve the stunning smile you’ve always dreamed of. From simple teeth whitening to a complete smile makeover with porcelain veneers, there is a cosmetic procedure that can be tailored to meet your specific goals and budget.
What is Cosmetic Dentistry?
While general dentistry focuses on the health of your teeth and gums, cosmetic dentistry focuses on improving the appearance of your smile. A skilled cosmetic dentist combines artistry with dental science to enhance the color, shape, size, alignment, and overall harmony of your teeth. The goal is to create a smile that is not only beautiful but also looks natural and complements your unique facial features.
Popular Cosmetic Dentistry Procedures
- Professional Teeth Whitening: This is one of the fastest, most affordable, and most popular ways to make a dramatic improvement in your smile. Professional whitening treatments use a powerful but safe bleaching agent to break up the stains and discoloration caused by coffee, tea, red wine, and aging. It can make your teeth many shades whiter in a single visit or with custom take-home trays.
- Porcelain Veneers: For a truly transformative “Hollywood smile,” porcelain veneers are the gold standard. A veneer is a very thin, custom-made shell of tooth-colored porcelain that is bonded to the front surface of a tooth. Veneers can be used to correct a wide range of cosmetic issues, including severe staining, chips, cracks, small gaps between the teeth, and minor crookedness. They can completely change the shape and color of your teeth to create a perfectly white and beautifully aligned smile.
- Cosmetic Bonding (Dental Bonding): This is a more conservative and affordable alternative to veneers for repairing smaller imperfections. In this procedure, a dentist applies a tooth-colored composite resin (the same material used for white fillings) to a tooth. The resin is then skillfully sculpted to fill in a chip, close a small gap, or change the shape of a tooth. The resin is hardened with a special light and then polished to a natural-looking shine.
- Invisalign® (Clear Aligners): For crooked or misaligned teeth, Invisalign offers a virtually invisible way to straighten your smile without traditional metal braces. A series of custom-made, clear plastic aligners are used to gradually shift your teeth into their proper position.
As the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD), a leading organization for cosmetic dental professionals, explains, these procedures can have a life-changing impact on a person’s confidence.
The Smile Makeover: A Comprehensive Approach
In some cases, a patient may benefit from a combination of these procedures to achieve their ideal smile. This is called a “smile makeover.” Your cosmetic dentist will work with you to create a customized treatment plan that addresses all of your concerns and brings all the elements of your smile—color, alignment, and shape—into perfect harmony.
Your Redlands Cosmetic Dentistry Expert
Achieving the smile of your dreams begins with a conversation. A cosmetic consultation is your opportunity to discuss your goals and learn about the options that are right for you. For patients in the Redlands, CA area who are ready to transform their smile, Dr. Michelle Wang combines artistry with state-of-the-art technology. We are your home for expert cosmetic dentistry. We invite you to schedule a smile consultation at Michelle Wang DDS. Contact us today.