Give Your Smile A Boost with Cosmetic Dentistry at Crownridge Dental
An already gorgeous smile can be made even more dazzling with the right cosmetic dentistry treatment. What are some imperfections with your teeth that have been bothering you? Is there a crack that keeps drawing your attention? Is there a stain that never seems to go away? Let Dr. Pham, our skilled cosmetic dentist in San Antonio, TX, know what kind of improvements you want to make, and our dental team will put together a plan to make your dream grin a reality. Call us today to set up a cosmetic dentistry consultation.
Why would I get cosmetic dentistry procedures?
To me, cosmetic dentistry is about having a healthy mouth. When you have a healthy mouth, that translates into a beautiful smile.
Cosmetic could be just getting your mouth back to health. There are also people who want to have straight teeth or whose teeth are brown and gray, and they want to improve that. We look at their smile, do a smile evaluation, understand their concerns, and then help them improve their smile.
Basically, what they call cosmetic, whether it's with veneers, crowns, gum remodeling, or straightening the teeth, all that to get their smile to a place where they can be confident.
How do I know if cosmetic dentistry is what I am looking for?
My philosophy is that cosmetics, which really means having a beautiful smile and beautiful teeth, encompasses everything. You must have healthy gums, not bleeding gums. You must have teeth that are free of plaque and tartar. You have to have teeth where the coloration may have been more brown or gray due to not having healthy teeth.
Our philosophy is first to get the teeth back to health, which plays a large part in having a beautiful smile, a cosmetic smile. From there, we can improve, whether by straightening teeth or adding veneers. Cosmetic comes from first taking care of your mouth, getting it healthy, then moving on to talking about straightening the teeth, getting veneers, and achieving white teeth. Absolutely, cosmetics can improve your smile. When you improve the smile, improvement comes from healthy teeth, healthy gums. When you achieve that, your smile will definitely look better. The coloration will be better, teeth whiter, and no puffy bleeding gums if you have gum disease. That plays a lot in having a healthy smile, a cosmetic smile, a beautiful smile.
Is there any age too young or too old to consider cosmetic dentistry?
I would say cosmetic dentistry is about having healthy teeth. If you're too young, that doesn't mean that your age limits cosmetic dentistry. Cosmetically, when you're young, we take care of your teeth to keep them healthy, try to prevent cavities, try to prevent cracking of your teeth by some means, and then you will grow older with healthy, beautiful teeth.
If you're older, usually your teeth have been worn and torn, with potential chipping, cracking, and discoloration that has developed over the years. They may have gone through a period of gum disease or other diseases that have caused the teeth to not be in their most beautiful state at that time when you're older. We can try to restore that when you're older. When you're younger, we try to maintain your healthy teeth. It's important for young people to go to the dentist regularly to maintain their healthy teeth. When you get older and your teeth get worn down and beaten down, we can restore that.
What's the benefit of cosmetic dentistry?
A lot of people want cosmetic dentistry because they feel unable to smile, say in a photograph. They're unable to talk to people freely because they are conscious of their teeth, which may not be in the most beautiful state they'd like. Cosmetic dentistry builds up your confidence, enabling you to attend social gatherings without worrying about how your teeth look, being self-conscious when talking or smiling. It really helps with confidence in life and the social gatherings that they attend.
What should I consider when looking for a cosmetic dentist?
For me, you want to look for a dentist who is not just trying to restore your teeth that are broken or discolored. A dentist who cares about health as well. I don't want a cosmetic veneer to cover up a tooth when the gum is bleeding. We need to look for a cosmetic dentist who cares about the health of your teeth first.
Before you put on veneers or straighten teeth, the teeth must be taken care of first, where they're healthy, with healthy gums, and all cavities have been addressed. Not to put a veneer or straighten teeth on top. If you do that, you just cover up the bad state of the teeth but don't really take care of it first.
You need to have a dentist who cares about healthy gums, a healthy mouth, all that first, and then treats you appropriately for veneers or straightening of the teeth. That's where you get the best outcome. If you do veneers and orthodontics without addressing the disease, sooner or later that work will fail, which costs a lot of money. You want something that lasts a long time with a good foundation rather than building on a poor foundation.
Is cosmetic dentistry painful?
That's another question that a lot of people ask. If you take care of your health, if a dentist takes care of the healthy gums and healthy mouth, then leading to the cosmetic dentistry veneers or straightening teeth will be less discomforting. But if you do veneer cosmetic work before addressing your disease and getting back to health, it may be a little more discomforting than if you were getting back to health.
Cosmetic dentistry usually involves getting veneers, some kind of aesthetic crown, and orthodontics. After, say, you get a lot of veneers or crowns, we generally advise against habits like eating or chewing ice. If you're a grinder, we generally give you a night guard, a mouthpiece, to protect your crown and veneer from the wear that occurs if you're a grinder. If you do orthodontics with braces, Invisalign, or clear aligner, some people make the mistake of thinking they can wear a retainer for a year or two and then stop wearing it. With clear aligner straightening orthodontics, you want to wear your retainer; it's basically a lifetime commitment if you want to keep your teeth where they're at, in the straightened position.
Why Choose Crownridge Dental For Cosmetic Dentistry?
- Full Smile Makeovers Available
- Dentist That Thinks A Few Steps Ahead
- Dental Team That Treats You Like Family
Veneers
Veneers stand out as a cosmetic service because they let us make multiple changes with just one treatment. A veneer is an ultra-thin sheath of tooth-colored material. It’s made to completely cover the front of your visible tooth, hiding permanent discoloration, chips, gaps, rotated teeth, and other imperfections. It takes just two appointments to place veneers, after which you can expect them to last about 10 to 15 years on average before you need to replace them.
Dental Bonding
Like veneers, dental bonding is a highly versatile treatment that can be used to make many different kinds of corrections. But while veneers require you to visit our dental office at least twice, dental bonding lets you enjoy the results of your treatment after just one appointment. A small amount of composite resin is applied to the teeth to hide the problem areas, and the treatment can be completed in about an hour in most cases. It’s the perfect option for those who want to give their smile a quick touchup.
Teeth Whitening
Some stains don’t go away even with vigorous brushing. That is because the stain particles are beneath the enamel where store-bought products can’t reach them. A professional whitening treatment, on the other hand, utilizes a professional-strength whitening solution that can penetrate the enamel and address the discoloration right at the source. It will not be very long before you have a notably brighter smile to show off at job interviews and important social events.
Smile Makeovers
When there is more than one change that needs to be made to your grin, we can give your entire smile a makeover. This is essentially a combination of several cosmetic treatments; which ones are used depends on the changes you want to make. We’ll work with you to plan the steps of your smile makeover, going over the improvements you want to make and reviewing which treatments are best for helping you reach your goal.
Learn More About Smile Makeover
At Crownridge Dental, you come first. Whether you need dental care or simply have questions, call us at (210) 981-6018 or email [email protected] to schedule your visit. Our team is here to help you every step of the way.