Photos of dental procedures, before and after, and many more

When teeth are discolored, worn down, or misaligned, there are multiple options for correcting the existing condition to create a more beautiful smile. Porcelain veneers are more conservative than crowns, and more durable than resin bonding. Preparation of the teeth for a veneer can be very conservative depending on the preexisting shape and color of the teeth. The following case was done to correct the alignment, chipping, and discoloration of the top front 6 teeth.

CROWNS

Crowns can be used to correct alignment defects and structural damage to individual teeth. In some situations multiple teeth are affected and can cause significant aesthetic concerns. If your smile is like the example shown, crowns can be used as a quick, and very successful way to improve your smile.

PARTIAL DENTURES

Have some missing teeth? Partial dentures is just one of the options to improve your smile.

AESTHETIC PARTIAL DENTURES

As advancements in dentistry continue, new and improved materials open many doors. One of the materials I have been having great success with is TCS. Essentially, it is a plastic material which is thin, flexible, and very strong. Many of my patients who have had multiple metal partial dentures in the past have found this material to be far superior. Take a look.

When having a new denture made, this is an ideal time to consider other possible changes as well. The following pictures are of a patient for whom we whitened her teeth and then fabricated a new TCS denture to replace her older metal denture. The end result was a metal free, whiter, brighter smile, and a very happy patient.

ORTHODONTICS AND BONDING

Many people live with crooked and malformed teeth. But they don't have too. Regardless of your age, their are options. Just take a look at what can be achieved in as little as 4-6 months.

RESIN BONDING

Fortunately, not all cases are as severe as the above. For some it is a few select teeth that are malformed or miss aligned. In these cases reshaping the teeth with minimally invasive white fillings often produce the desired effect.

This patient had peg laterals (smaller than normal teeth beside her center teeth). Simple bonding fixed her smile.

This individual had deep developmental staining in one of her front teeth. With one short visit and some white filling material the staining is no more and the patient can smile with confidence.

BRIDGES

Bridges are restorations fixed in place and used to replace missing teeth. For this individual the bridge of choice was a hybrid between a standard bridge and a Mayrland bridge. Standard bridges have crowns on the abutment teeth (teeth used for anchorage), where as a Maryland bridge has a thin metal plate along the back side of the abutment tooth, which minimizes removal of tooth structure. For this case, the size of the space where the tooth was missing was too great to fully close the space, so a little bit of space was left between the front tooth (maryland abutment) and the pontic (tooth replacing the missing tooth).

GINGIVAL RECONTOURING and FRENECTOMIES

Trauma and malpositioned teeth can often result in irregular gum contours. With repeated trauma gums tissue can overgrow and become hypertrophic (increase in number of cells resulting in increased size). This can be unsightly as well as making the area harder to keep clean. The use of a soft tissue laser can help to reshape the gum tissue to create a more aesthetic and self cleansing environment. Additionally, the source of trauma causing the hypertrophic tissue often needs to be corrected as well. This is clearly illustrated in the photos below.

There are multiple points where your facial muscles attach to your jaw structure. Some of these attachments are called Frenums. In some case these attachments are anchored to close to the teeth. This can cause teeth to move and/or cause the gum tissue around the teeth to pull back (recession) exposing the root surface of the teeth. A frenectomy is a simple procedure where this attachment is cut (either with a scalpel or soft tissue laser) and allowed to reattach in a less traumatic position. The following photos show a frenectomy that was done to prevent further recession.

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