Smile Designing
A smile makeover or designing is a process by which features of your teeth are changed
giving you a bright, beautiful and confident smile. This is recommended if you are
suffering from different dental problems.
Smile makeovers combine multiple cosmetic dentistry treatments, meaning a comprehensive
enhancement of your smile. Cosmetic procedures like tooth whitening, teeth recontouring,
cosmetic braces, dental veneers, dental implants can all be combined to produce
the goals you require.
Stages involved
Stage 1: Designing the Smile Makeover
Our dentists will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of your teeth, gums, underlying
support structure and bite to determine candidacy for a smile makeover. If your
evaluation reveals that you have an oral health problem such as a gum disease or
active decay, you will need to undergo proprietary treatment prior to your smile
makeover.
The key we feel to a successful, long lasting smile makeover is careful a thorough
planning stage. An integral part of a Smile Makeover process is the preview of potential
results that can be evaluated before treatment begins. Before and after photos of
other patients who have had smile makeovers offer examples of the results you may
expect to see. The photos may also give you an idea of the smiles you like and which
you would like to incorporate into the design, or the desired colour of the smile
make-over.
First of all at Stoma Advanced Dental Care we have an in depth consultation to understand and record
your main wishes. Further we have incorporated a variety of dental technologies
to show you the changes that you can expect to see in your smile.
Digital Smile Design & Imaging
We will take a series of careful facial measurements that will help in the creation
of a smile in proportion to your bone structure, age, and gender. Even the size,
length, shape, and color of every tooth is considered and designed to ensure neuromuscular
comfort and a pleasing, balanced look - perfect for you! Usually photographs will
be taken to digitally evaluate the proposed smile changes such as tooth size, shape,
and colour.
Along with we take your inputs to design your smile on the computer in front of
you. This will then act as the ‘blue-print’ for your new smile to ensure accuracy
of the final result. We will answer any questions you may have about the dental
treatment.
We can make any changes that you wish at this stage. Once you are happy with the
smile that has been designed we can then begin the process to replicating this in
the mouth.
Stage 2: Preparing the Teeth and Provisional Teeth
The teeth are gently reshaped as required based on the corrective work required.
This is usually carried out under local anesthetic but in some instances the reshaping
is so mild that no local anesthetic is required. Once reshaped, accurate impressions
are taken of the teeth and send to the laboratory. Temporary teeth are made based
on the previously designed smile and fitted to the teeth. You will be shown the
new temporary teeth and adjustments can be made on these teeth as required.
Stage 3: Review
The teeth are then reviewed and any changes / adjustments to the temporary veneers
are made. These changes are recorded and sent to the technician in the laboratory
who will be responsible for producing the final teeth.
Stage 4: Fitting the Teeth
Your bright new smile is checked and fitted and rechecked with you. Once you are
happy with it, we will then secure the new teeth with a special dental adhesive.
Any minor adjustments and polishing is carried out and your smile makeover is then
complete.
Various Procedures Involved
A well-planned smile transformation or smile make-over may be advised if larger
changes to the smile are desired. This can involve combining a number of treatments
such as:
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Tooth whitening
-
Tooth straightening
-
Dental implants
-
Veneers
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Crowns
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Bridges
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Dental bonding
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Gum sculpturing
Commonly many different options may be possible but it is important your general
oral health is evaluated, and is of a good standard before a plan can be developed
for your smile makeover.
Teeth Whitening
Teeth Whitening is a simple and non-invasive dental treatment used to change the
colour of natural tooth enamel and is an ideal way to enhance the beauty of your
smile. Teeth whitening can be done in the clinic or at home using custom made bleaching
trays filled with bleaching gel.
Dental bleaching can be used to correct tooth discoloration. Discolorations can
be caused by staining, aging, or chemical damage to teeth. Using the latest in bleaching
technology, we can offer a safe method for creating a beautiful, brilliant smile.
In cases of extreme tooth discoloration, crowns or veneers may be the only choice.
Tooth straightening
Teeth straightening options available to us are orthodontic braces, veneers, crowns
and surgery. Teeth straightening surgery, or orthognathic surgery is often advised
for patients with severe skeletal deficiencies. Examples of such deficiency include
cleft palate and jaw discrepancies. This type of teeth straightening surgery can
only be performed by oral maxillofacial surgeons under general anesthesia and is
the most invasive of all options. Treatment period is also very lengthy as it is
paired with orthodontic braces for pre-surgical preparation and post-surgical maintenance.
Braces
Orthodontic braces involves the placement of a small bracket on each tooth which
are then linked or tied together with a wire. The brackets are usually placed on
the front surface of teeth. There are times when the brackets are placed on the
inside surfaces of teeth, mostly for aesthetic purpose, commonly referred to as
lingual braces.
Treatment usually takes 18-24 months to complete. Braces are placed under the supervision
of a qualified orthodontist.
Open Bite Corrected by Orthodontic Treatment
Stoma Advanced Dental Care offers the following corrective appliances to bring teeth, lips and jaws into
proper alignment for optimal facial balance.
Veneers
Veneers and crowns are also used to straighten teeth. Veneers are made entirely
from porcelain or ceramic. With veneers there is no reason to have gaps between
your teeth, stained, badly shaped, or crooked teeth. A veneer placed on top of your
teeth corrects these problems.
Porcelain veneer
Porcelain veneers are thin shells of ceramic that bond directly to the front and
top surfaces of the teeth. When bonded to the teeth, the ultra-thin porcelain veneers
are virtually undetectable and highly resistant to coffee, tea, or even cigarette
stains.
For strength and appearance, their resemblance to healthy, white tooth enamel is
unsurpassed by other restorative options. Because they are thin, light can shine
through them and they take on the natural colour of the underlying tooth.
Crowns
Crowns can be constructed either fully in metal or in porcelain, or partially in
porcelain that is laminated on a metal or zirconia structure. This masks the portion
of the crown that is visible in the mouth, making it to appear straight. Treatment
takes roughly 2 weeks to complete.
Where damage to a person's teeth is extreme and apparently beyond repair, we use
porcelain or porcelain "fused on to gold" crowns to make the smile appear "as new".
This is an extremely reliable technique for repairing the most severe dental problems,
even permanently replacing missing teeth to offer a complete smile and a functional
bite.
Bridges
A bridge is a device used to replace missing teeth — attaches artificial teeth to
adjacent natural teeth, called abutment teeth. Bridges are either permanently attached
(fixed bridges) or they can be removable. Fixed bridges are applied by either placing
crowns on the abutment teeth or by bonding the artificial teeth directly to the
abutment teeth. Removable bridges are attached to the teeth with metal clasps or
by precision attachments.
Bonding
An alternative to veneers, bonding can be used as a restorative procedure for teeth
that are chipped, cracked, discolored, or misarranged. The bonding procedure can
be completed in a single clinic visit and significantly improves the appearance
of a tooth. However, since the plastic resin used is not as strong as your natural
tooth enamel, it is more likely to stain, chip, or break than natural teeth. Bonding
typically lasts three to five years before repair is needed.
Bonding
The tooth is prepared for the procedure by lightly etching the surface and applying
a bonding liquid. Once the liquid sets, a plastic resin is applied and sculpted
into the desired shape by the dentist. Once set, the resin is trimmed, smoothed,
and polished to a natural appearance.
Gum Sculpting
If your teeth appear short, they may actually be the proper length but covered by
too much gum tissue. We can correct this by performing the periodontal plastic surgery
procedure, crown lengthening.
Crown Lengthening
Crown lengthening (or crown exposure) is required when your tooth needs a new crown
or other restoration. This procedure create a new gum-to-tooth relationship. During
this procedure, excess gum and bone tissue is reshaped to expose more of the natural
tooth. This can be done to more than one tooth, to even your gum line, and to create
a beautiful smile.
Gum Sculpting procedure also covers unsightly, sensitive or exposed root surfaces
and to prevent future gum recession.
Gum Sculpting
Another cosmetic procedure is the soft tissue graft. It is used to cover unattractive
tooth roots, reduce gum recession and protect the roots from decay and eventual
loss. Bone grafting is also done following tooth loss to preserve the socket/ridge
and minimize gum and bone collapse. There is less shrinkage and a more aesthetic
tooth replacement for either an implant crown or fixed bridge around the replacement
teeth.
Recall
Professional examinations at regular four to six-month recall appointments are necessary.
Developing problems can be found at an early stage and repaired easily, while waiting
for a longer time may require redoing entire restorations. We will contact you when
it's time for your recall appointment.
Disclaimer
The information on this web site is only intended as an introduction to this procedure
and should not be used to determine whether you will have the procedure performed
nor as a guarantee of the result. The best method of determining your options is
to consult dentist at Stoma Advanced Dental Care who will be able to answer specific questions related
to your situation.
