A Facelift For Your Teeth | Women Lifestyle, Fashion, Health, Beauty and Personality

A Facelift For Your Teeth
Category : Women Lifestyle, Women Health, Women Beauty, Women Personality

Do you cringe when you’re asked to say cheese? Don’t fret, you, too, can have a movie star smile with these new cosmetic dentistry techniques.

Teeth are more than something to chew with. Besides playing a major role in how good you look, they even influence how old you look. Many of the things that make people look older, such as receding gums, sunken cheeks or shrinking lips, often have more to do with the state of their teeth than their age. The good news is that if there’s something you hate about your mouth - crooked teeth, a gappy grin, or too much or too little gum - cosmetic dentistry can improve it. Some solutions don’t come cheap, but if the results are good, it may be a better investment in wellbeing than a splurge on clothes or an exotic holiday.

But, as with cosmetic surgery, there are a few things to think about before you go ahead. Be realistic about the results you expect: cosmetic dentistry may make you feel more attractive and confident, but it won’t change your life. The cost of cosmetic work varies from dentist to dentist-the fees given here are only a guide. Check with your private health fund to find out if you are covered for the procedure you want.

VENEERS
Sometimes called “false fingernails” for teeth, veneers are thin layers of porcelain bonded to teeth to camouflage stains, close gaps, mask chipped teeth, even out crooked teeth (unless they’re very crooked), and sometimes improve minor crowding. They can also lengthen short teeth and make teeth more prominent (but can’t make prominent teeth less so).

How is it done? The first visit involves shaving back some of the tooth’s natural enamel by about 0.5 mm. The veneers are then bonded to the teeth at a second visit. Because they need a sound base of good enamel, veneers aren’t suitable for teeth with a lot of fillings.
However, bonded to strong enamel, a porcelain veneer can be as hard-wearing as a real tooth, says Sydney prosthodontist David Roessler.
The lifetime of veneers is about 10 years, though you may need to have them redone earlier if your gums recede and reveal the edges of the veneers.
You can’t have more than two or three repeat veneers because of the wear and tear on your tooth enamel. If your teeth can no longer take a veneer, you can graduate to a crown.

WHITENING UP
Remember the “You can never be too thin or too rich” quote from the Duchess of Windsor? If she were still around, she’d probably have added, “and your teeth can never be too white”. Of all cosmetic dental procedures, tooth bleaching is the most popular. This is probably because of the influence of Hollywood and the cult of celebrity, suggests Dr Roessler. Seeing so many dazzling white teeth smiling at us from movie screens, TV and magazines means that ultra-white teeth start to look like the norm.
White teeth, he adds, are also associated with youth. Our teeth darken with age because their enamel outer surface becomes thinner with time, allowing the darker second layer (dentine) to show through.

How is it done? Your dentist takes an impression of your teeth and orders a custom-made clear plastic tray (a bit like a mouthguard), which is designed to hold a bleaching solution called carbamide peroxide and can be worn over your teeth at home. At the next visit, the dentist fits the tray and can also “kickstart” the bleaching process by applying a more powerful solution to teeth and activating it with heat or light. After that, it’s up to you to use the bleaching tray at home for an hour each day (or, alternatively, wear it overnight) for two to four weeks.

Tooth bleaching has its limitations - it may not whiten teeth as much as you want (but then ultra-white smiles can look fake, especially if you’re older) and it may not remove all discolouration, although it may lighten it.
Is it safe? Some years ago peroxide used for bleaching teeth was under suspicion as contributing to mouth cancer, especially in smokers. Now, says Dr Roessler, the general consensus is that it’s safe if used correctly -the bleaching agents have been refined, so that less is used. With custom-made trays used by dentists (as opposed to DIY home bleaching kits used without dental supervision), there’s less leakage of the solution into your mouth. How long does it last? About six months. So far there is no evidence that repeated bleaching damages teeth, but because the technique is so new, no one really knows. Bleaching can temporarily irritate the gums and cause tooth sensitivity.

CROWNS (sometimes called caps)
There are some problems that simple veneers can’t fix. For instance, a tooth that’s badly decayed or stained, or is made up of more filling than tooth, or a tooth that has been weakened by root canal
therapy needs a crown. This means that the problem tooth is reduced in size to become a support structure for the crown. Crowns are made from different materials, including porcelain or porcelain fused to metal (your dentist can help you decide which is the best for your needs).

How is it done? Fitting a crown takes at least two visits. At the first, the dentist prepares the tooth for the crown, takes an impression of the tooth and then fits a temporary crown to wear until the custommade crown is ready. At the second visit, the new crown is fitted and cemented into place. A crown will last up to 20 years, though without regular teeth brushing and flossing, decay can set in underneath.

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