Tooth Gap

How Do I Care For My Perfect Teeth After Visiting a Cosmetic Dentist?

Have you had esthetic enhancements to your teeth or just naturally have great looking, perfect teeth? Here are some tips to maintain your picture perfect smile.

In order to maintain a healthy smile, you have to know what types of things are damaging to the teeth. Identifying and eliminating bad oral habits is the key to retaining a great smile for many years. Sometimes we are not aware that we are harming the health of our teeth. Do you:

• Grind your teeth?
• Casually bite your fingernails or a pen?
• Crunch ice?
• Have a diet high in sugar (such as soda, chewing gum and candy)?
• Drink coffee, red wine and tea? Smoke or chew tobacco?
• Force your tongue against your upper teeth?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are in danger of causing a detrimental effect on your new smile.

How Detrimental Are the Effects?

No one can predict the exact effects that the habit will have on your newly perfect teeth, however, the longer the duration of the habit, the greater negative effect it will have on the longevity of your smile enhancements.

How Can I Eliminate My Bad Oral Habits and Protect My Perfect Teeth?

The first step to eliminating a bad habit is to identify and acknowledge that you have one. If your habit is crunching ice, you must alter or eliminate it from your day-to-day routine.

Other habits are harder to break like grinding your teeth. Grinding the teeth is generally an involuntary action and usually occurs when asleep. Because the habit is difficult to break, a plastic night guard is the best solution to prevent excessive wear of your teeth.

A night guard is a clear plastic mouthpiece that is custom-fitted to snap over your teeth, much like an athletic mouth guard. The night guard is designed so your teeth grind on the plastic, not your teeth. The night guard will wear out, but your teeth will not.

Do not neglect your teeth, especially if you have had esthetic enhancements. Your enhancements will not last forever, so in order to preserve your perfect teeth, visit your dentist regularly and do your best to eliminate bad oral habits.

By Benjamin O. Watkins, III, DDS

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Cosmetic Dentistry Corrections: Bleaching, Bonding and Dental Veneers

Maybe you've thought about cosmetic dentistry, but felt it was a little vain to consider it. Or the appearance of your teeth never bothered you much, because your dental health is pretty good.

Well, like it or not, "cosmetic" is more than skin deep. Most people form biases about others based on appearance. And, one of the critical factors in such judgments, is the teeth.

Because new cosmetic dental techniques give your dentist the means to fine-tune virtually anyone's teeth, most people need not go without the advantage of a white bright smile. Consider the options.

Teeth bleaching is a simple, inexpensive way to lighten stains and discoloration on certain teeth, front teeth are the more obvious candidates, without altering the natural structure of enamel. If you've had a root canal procedure, there may be some darkening. Some people suffer staining from medications, like tetracycline. And teeth naturally change as we age, or if we indulge in too much coffee, tea or smoking.

In any case, whiter teeth can be achieved with external or internal bleaching. The most common treatment involves cleaning the teeth thoroughly, applying a bleaching solution, and then curing it with a gentle heat source. The procedure takes just 30 to 45 minutes. After three to five sessions, you, and everyone else, will really notice the difference.

Cosmetic corrections for gaps, misshapen or chipped teeth are achieved with tooth bonding. New dental bonding materials can work wonders using a little art, and lots of science. Your cosmetic dentist can literally sculpt tooth form, or replace a gold crown with natural-colored restorations. The result is stronger than ever and makes a dramatic impact on your appearance.

Dental veneers are an option too, for teeth that need lengthening or reshaping. Veneers cover the front of a tooth entirely and work especially well where there is less stress on the teeth involved. Veneers are a durable, beautiful solution to dental imperfections.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.