As the new year begins, you might be thinking about improvements you want to make in your life like getting a new job, moving to a new city, or even making changes to your appearance. If it’s the latter, one way you can improve your appearance is by straightening your teeth. If your teeth look crooked, gapped, crowded, or misaligned, cosmetic dentistry can help you achieve your goal of a straighter smile. But which treatment is best to get the job done? Take a look at three different cosmetic dentistry treatments we offer that can straighten your smile.
Straighter Teeth With Porcelain Veneers
If the only thing wrong with your teeth is that a few are crooked, gapped, or crowded, you might be a good candidate for porcelain veneers instead of orthodontics. Porcelain veneers can cover up minor orthodontic problems and provide immediate results. The main difference between veneers and orthodontics is that veneers simply cover the problems while orthodontics actually correct them. We recommend porcelain veneers to cover up small aesthetic issues but if there are bite problems, we will recommend orthodontics instead.
If you are a good candidate for porcelain veneers, they’re a great alternative to orthodontics. To cover your minor aesthetic issues, we will shape the veneers to make your teeth appear straight. In just two appointments you can achieve a brand new smile. During the first appointment, we will discuss how many veneers you need to achieve your desired results. Next, we will prepare your teeth for the veneers by removing a thin layer of your enamel. Lastly, we will take impressions of your teeth.
When your veneers return from the lab, we will bond them to your teeth and you will have a beautifully straight smile! As a bonus, porcelain veneers can also whiten your smile too.
Invisalign For Mild to Moderate Problems
If your teeth have more issues than just aesthetics, or you want to correct your problems instead of just mask them with porcelain veneers, Invisalign might be a better choice for you. We recommend Invisalign to patients who have mild to moderate orthodontic problems like crowded, crooked, gapped, or misaligned teeth. Unlike porcelain veneers, Invisalign takes anywhere from six months to 2 years to achieve your ideal results.
What makes Invisalign different from traditional braces treatments is its comfort, convenience, and discreetness. The treatment involves wearing clear plastic aligners for around two weeks at a time and then switching to a new set. Each set of aligners has minor adjustments that will gradually move your teeth into a new position. To ensure your treatment moves along correctly, it’s recommended that you wear your aligners for at least 20 hours per day, only removing them to eat and brush and floss your teeth.
Most patients love Invisalign because the aligners are hardly noticeable which means you can straighten your teeth without anyone knowing. You can also eat your favorite foods throughout your treatment since you have to remove the aligners. Invisalign is suitable for all ages from teens and older.
Braces For All Smiles
Your last option for straightening your teeth with cosmetic dentistry is traditional braces. Every type of smile is a good candidate for traditional braces. Traditional braces can correct anything from mild crookedness to severe bite problems. Like Invisalign, we recommend braces to patients who want to correct the cause of their non-straight teeth instead of just mask them.
The biggest hesitation with traditional braces is that they’re highly noticeable. However, if you can get past that aspect, they’re a highly effective treatment that will help you achieve a beautiful smile that lasts for years to come. If you decide you want braces, our dentists will bond metal brackets to your teeth and attach an archwire. About every six weeks, you will visit our dental office to tighten your braces. Your teeth will gradually move into their correct position. Most braces treatments take one to two years to finish.
Caring for your braces correctly is essential for a treatment that moves at the correct pace. If you eat the wrong types of foods, you can break a bracket that would require an emergency visit to the dentist to fix it which could potentially put your treatment behind schedule if you take too long to visit us. You will also need to use special floss and interdental toothbrushes to effectively clean your teeth.
One of the best benefits of traditional braces is that you can’t remove them from your mouth so you never have to worry about how many hours you’ve taken them out or if your treatment is behind schedule. They’re always in place and you can’t remove them until your teeth are in their new position.
Learn More about Cosmetic Dentistry in Spokane
If you’re ready to show off a beautifully straightened smile, you need to talk to our cosmetic dentists about our different cosmetic dentistry treatments and which one is right for you. Schedule a consultation at our Spokane dental office with Drs. Marnie or Ken Collins by calling (509) 532-1111. Who knows? Your straight smile might be just a few appointments away.
