Cosmetic Services

Cosmetic Bleaching

As its name suggests, tooth whitening (or cosmetic bleaching), is a way of brightening your natural teeth. This can be a great option when the teeth are structurally intact, but are simply not the right color. You may already be familiar with some of the over-the-counter tooth whitening systems available on the market. Unlike those one-size-fits-all products, our tooth whitening kits are custom-made to fit your mouth. We start by taking impressions of your mouth and using them to create plastic trays which are perfectly fitted to your teeth. A whitening gel is dispensed into the trays, and the trays are worn for a few minutes each day to gradually whiten the teeth. The custom fit of our trays creates close contact between the gel and your teeth, ensuring a uniform and esthetic result.

Many times, a patient’s cosmetic needs will be best served by performing restorative cosmetics (i.e. crowns or veneers) on some teeth, and whitening the remaining teeth. In these cases, we highly recommend pursuing the whitening treatment first. In general, dental restorations (crowns, veneers, fillings, etc.) cannot be whitened. It is therefore desirable to whiten the natural teeth to the desired shade first, and then match any new restorative work to the already-whitened teeth. This helps to ensure a close match between natural and restored teeth, and allows us to achieve a maximally esthetic result.

Cosmetic Bonding

Although whitening can often be very effective, sometimes the teeth simply need a "fresh coat of paint." In these cases, we can perform cosmetic bonding. Like placement of a dental filling, this procedure involves removal of some of the natural tooth structure, and replacing it with a composite filling material. By blending composites of varying shades and opacities, we can achieve a highly esthetic and simultaneously natural-looking result. Furthermore, cosmetic bonding requires no involvement from our laboratory, and so the procedure may be performed in a single visit. And although composites cannot be whitened with conventional whitening kits, they may be removed and redone with relative ease, should the patient ever desire a modification in shape or color. In fact, patients often choose cosmetic bonding as an interim treatment before getting porcelain veneers. This affords the opportunity to evaluate the color and shape of the cosmetic restoration before committing to the final veneers, which cannot be modified as easily.

Porcelain Veneers

If cosmetic bonding is analogous to a "fresh coat of paint," then porcelain veneers are like "new siding" for your teeth. Unlike crowns, they cover only the front (visible) surfaces of the teeth, and serve only to enhance cosmetics. Although they are most commonly placed on the six central upper teeth, veneers may be placed anywhere that a maximally esthetic result is desired. As with cosmetic bonding, the process of placing a veneer involves removal of some of the natural tooth structure. But instead of filling with a blend of composites, an impression is taken and sent to our dental laboratory, where a porcelain laminate is custom-built to fit over the tooth/teeth. In the interim, we’ll provide a temporary cosmetic laminate to maintain a normal feel and appearance of your teeth. When we receive the veneer from the lab, the temporary laminate will be removed and the final veneer will be cemented in place. Though the process is more time-consuming than cosmetic bonding, porcelain veneers allow for the most resilient and esthetic cosmetic outcome.