Straight teeth are an important icon in our society – it is no wonder parents will forgo many creature comforts to straighten their kids teeth as teens.
Everybody understands that a good smile gives you an edge in society:
- People hire people with nice smiles
- People date people with nice smiles
So what can you do about your smile? Here is a case I just completed on someone that was told she could not have clear braces by another dentist.
Besides the improvements in esthetics, the case also significantly helped the patient functionally. She now is able to keep her teeth clean! It is much more difficult to manage crooked teeth than straight teeth. Invisalign Clear Braces gave this lady a beautiful smile!
Consider you smile…is it a healthy smile? Is it a beautiful smile? How would straight, healthy teeth improve your life?
Life is better with a beautiful smile!
Keep Smiling.
Clear Braces, or Invisalign, require that the dentist bond small white composites (filling material) to the outside of certain teeth during the time the braces are worn. These composites do get polished off at the completion of the clear braces, but if they are not put on correctly then the Invisalign treatment won’t work as well and the teeth will have rough, staining fillings on them.
Cosmetic dentists have the experience required to place these fillings and polish them correctly!
A true cosmetic dentist can be viewed as the quarterback of the procedure. Meaning, the final outcome of the Invisalign treatment depends on the foresight of the dentist. Any final shaping/polishing or contouring of the teeth upon completion of the treatment is also done by the cosmetic dentist.
When we do a Invisalign case in our offices we make certain the teeth end up in the best and most esthetic position, but we also are able to manage the dental hygiene during the treatment and finalize the case when the braces are removed. One stop shopping!
You won’t need to manage the communicate between your orthodontist and general dentist.
In short, a cosmetic dentist that has lots of experience with clear braces or Invisalign saves you time and ensures that you get the best result possible.
Keep smiling.
Alex Nguyen (an exceptional dentist), just wrote a blog post about adult orthodontics. His explanation of why adult braces are not only about cosmetics is simple and to the point.
Many patients feel they are too old to get braces – some don’t even know that braces are a treatment option.
Here is the blog post, reprinted with permission from Dr. Nguyen(original article here):
It is not uncommon that I recommend my patients to consider orthodontic treatments to straighten their teeth. Sometimes my adult patients€™ initial reaction would sound something like: €I am too old for that, and I never thought about the cosmetics of my smile€¦€
Having straight teeth is not ALL about cosmetics.
The misalignment of teeth can cause a variety of problems ranging from TMJ issues, to bone loss, to excess fractures and wear facets on the teeth. This type of break down in the dentition can take many years to manifest. Unfortunately, sometimes when the patient starts to notice the problems, the solutions may require a complex combination of orthodontics and restorative treatments.
Properly aligned teeth actually follow very scientific principles created by nature to establish the most stable functional foundation. When teeth are properly aligned, certain functional movements of the jaw allow for optimum chewing, relaxed muscle state, and ideal joint health. The cosmetics of the smile is automatically achieved secondarily when the functional foundation is established. Finding the right orthodontist is key to successful treatment.
Hence, when you choose to have orthodontic treatment done, you are stabilizing the most important aspect of the dentition: To allow you to sustain life by being able to chew effectively throughout the course of your life span. As the human life span continues to lengthen, it is extremely important to make sure that you will continue to have a stable dentition for your chewing needs.
In the photos below you will find a smile with €œcrooked teeth€. Whereas the patient was never concerned with the cosmetics of her smile before, she has lately been concerned with the fractures lines and wear facets indicated by the red arrows. Her question to me at the last check-up was: €What would my teeth look like€¦say ten years down the line€¦€
My answer to her was: €They would look more broken down, and you will also notice problems with the back teeth as well.€
So as you can see. My recommendation for this patient to choose orthodontic treatment was based on achieving proper function, and not ALL about cosmetics.
Porcelain veneers, the best way to get the smile of your dreams, now available without sacrificing tooth structure!
Here is a recent smile I had the privilege of creating. This young lady has everything going for herself and now she has a smile that compliments her outgoing persona.
The beauty of such a veneer case is that her own tooth structure is still below these permanent porcelain veneers. We straightened her teeth with Invisalign so that we would not have to cut the tooth structure and then placed porcelain veneers that match her eyes! Yes, her eyes. Your smile is part of your whole face, and the color of your eyes need to match your teeth.
A smile makeover included more than just “teeth”. You need to look at the whole face, the lips, the eyes, the profile.
Keep smiling!
