Think of it as dissolving away the tenacious stains from food or smoking that form on teeth, the kind that don’t come off with regular brushing or even a professional cleaning. Whiteners used by dentists are much more powerful than anything you can buy in a pharmacy, grocery store, or off a television commercial. ? Whitening may be a good option for someone with minimal dental needs and with generally good dental health. It may NOT be used — at least not immediately — for someone who has extensive decay or other, larger dental issues, such as uncontrolled bone loss around the teeth. Whitening will even prove harmful for such individuals. At The Gentle Dentist, we do not advocate whitening for everyone who has dark-shaded teeth. One of the most important determinants for success in whitening is proper case selection: picking who will respond the best. However, for those who are not candidates for whitening, other esthetic options, such as veneers may be more advisable.
While silver mercury fillings can provide an adequate restoration, there are a number of reasons why today’s white fillings are a superior choice. The most obvious reason is esthetics. Metal restorations block light from passing through the naturally translucent teeth. Large silver mercury fillings create a greyish cast to teeth, giving a less than desirable appearance. In contrast, white fillings, which are shade-matched to the natural teeth, allow a tooth to look like a tooth. Beyond the obvious esthetic advantages, there are other, functional advantages. While wear characteristics of white fillings and silver mercury fillings are similar, thanks to constant advancement in materials, white fillings offer the advantage of being chemically bonded to the tooth. This means there can be potentially be less removal of natural tooth structure, which is often necessary to aid retention of silver mercury fillings.
Veneers can provide one of the most dramatic changes in a smile with relatively minimal modification of the natural teeth. Veneers are used almost exclusively in the “esthetic zone” — the front six teeth on top or bottom, from canine to canine. If you’ve watched makeover shows on television, you almost certainly have seen the dramatic changes to a person’s appearance that veneers can make. ? As with veneers used in woodworking, which are thin layers of an attractive wood used to cover something less attractive, dental veneers are thin layers of ceramic that are cemented permanently over discolored, misshapen, or poorly positioned teeth. The outcome often gives the smile a fuller, brighter look. That’s why many movie stars’ beautiful smiles are actually the artistry of a dentist. With veneers, Dr. Jergins can create a smile for you that’s not only fuller and brighter, but also natural-looking. After all, Hollywood smiles aren’t just for movie stars!
The difference in an all ceramic crown and traditional porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) crowns is night and day. Literally! With a traditonal PFM crown, light will not pass through the restoration due to its metal component. This creates crowns that look like — well, like crowns. While this may not be a problem in back teeth, for front teeth these crowns can give an unnatural appearance to the smile. An all-ceramic crown, on the other hand, allows light to pass through it just like natural teeth. The result is a smile that looks like nature made it. And unlike metal-containing crowns, all-ceramic crowns will never result in an unsightly black line around the gums. For a smile that looks the way nature created it, choose all-ceramic crowns.
