The Art of Cosmetic Dentistry

Porcelain veneers are thin shells of porcelain that are bonded to your natural tooth structure to give you a beautiful, custom designed, smile. Porcelain veneers are as thin as a contact lens, and they fit directly over the outer surface of the teeth. They can be made in any color, shape, and size. Porcelain veneers are used to straighten, lengthen and whiten teeth and to close spaces between teeth. In order to avoid creating teeth that look too bulky, a small amount of tooth structure must be removed to allow space for the porcelain. Doing so makes the final result look and feel more natural. Porcelain veneers are a popular cosmetic dental procedure because they can dramatically change a smile in as little as two visits and the procedure is virtually painless.

When a tooth or teeth are missing from the mouth, there are three options to restore the resulting space: a dental implant and crown, a removable partial denture, or a fixed bridge. A fixed bridge is often chosen if there are teeth remaining on either side of the space and the person is not a candidate for dental implants. In order to have a fixed bridge made, the teeth on either side of the space need to be prepared for crowns. Crowns are placed on the teeth and a fake dummy tooth is fused to the crowns to cover the space. Fixed bridges are permanent restorations that cannot be removed. In our office we use monolithic or cubic zirconia bridges for the most lifelike and natural looking teeth. Zirconia is the strongest porcelain which has a unique ability to resist wear, chipping, and breakage. Other dental materials can be used for very specific and unique dental problems, when necessary.