Unhappy with Your Smile? You Have Options to Make It Better

Probably the top of most people’s wishlist is a desire that their smile could be brighter and whiter. Tooth discoloration is a natural part of aging, but it can also be worsened by a tendency to indulge in colorful foods, from berries and chocolate to coffee and tea to red wine and dark beer.

Fortunately, there are many ways to make your smile brighter. First, don’t neglect the power of regular checkups. If you haven’t had one in a while, schedule one today, because a thorough tooth cleaning can do wonders for your teeth.

But if you still aren’t happy with the whiteness of  your smile, teeth whitening is very effective at removing stains from your smile.

Sometimes, though, even then your smile won’t be white enough. If that’s the case, we might recommend veneers, which can make your smile as white as you want.

Next on most people’s list would be straightening crooked teeth. This can include rotated teeth, crowded teeth, and gapped teeth. Although many people get orthodontics as teens, some of them find their results didn’t hold because they didn’t wear their retainer. And many others didn’t get orthodontics when they were younger.

People used to think that they couldn’t get braces after they were adults, but now adult braces are very popular. And with more options than ever, people are happy with the procedure and with their results. Traditional braces remain popular, but for many people Invisalign is a better option. The removable clear plastic aligners let you straighten your teeth with fewer restrictions on your lifestyle.

And if you really want to straighten your smile quickly (while fixing other problems), veneers make a great choice.

But perhaps the biggest item on a smile wishlist is replacing one or more missing teeth. Nothing catches people’s attention like a missing tooth, and if you have a missing tooth, it can cause your other teeth to drift and become crooked. Plus, food can get stuck in there, making it hard to keep your smile clean and healthy.

Modern cosmetic dentistry can replace missing teeth with beautiful, natural-looking restorations. And, again, you have options.

The best tooth replacement is a dental implant. This replacement looks and functions like a natural tooth, and it can last for a lifetime. But if you are leery of implant surgery (you shouldn’t be, but we understand!), dental bridges allow us to replace a missing tooth without surgery. It’s still a replacement that is fixed in place–not removable–and lets you bite and chew normally, but there’s no surgery required.