What is cosmetic dental care?
Cosmetic dental care focuses on changing the appearance of teeth, bites, and gums. It can be anything from teeth whitening procedures, to improving the alignment, position, size, colour, and shape of a patient's gums and teeth.
Most patients undergo cosmetic dental care with the hope that their teeth will look better once treatment is complete. While this is the ultimate goal, cosmetic dental procedures go beyond your looks.
Cosmetic dental procedures not only change the appearance of your smile, but they may also enhance oral function, promote oral hygiene, and improve your oral health.
What else can cosmetic dental procedures do?
- Enhance Oral Function - While the appearance of our teeth is important, we must remember that the primary function of our teeth, mouth and oral structures are to eat. A mouth full of strong, healthy teeth will make a significant difference in your eating habits. Consider an elderly man who has difficulty chewing. Consider having a toothache and having to starve yourself for a week or two while living solely on smoothies. Eating may be difficult if your teeth are misaligned, due to food fragments becoming lodged between your molars. Many of these issues can be addressed with cosmetic dental treatments to improve your oral function. Gum lifts, dental bridges, gum grafts, Invisalign, dental implants, bite reclamation, and tooth reshaping are some of the procedures available. You will most likely find that eating becomes easier as a result of these procedures.
- Promoting Oral Hygiene - Many cosmetic procedures necessitate some level of dental cleaning before treatment. Tartar and stains caused by smoking, eating, and drinking are removed by oral prophylaxis. Furthermore, the majority of cosmetic dental procedures are aimed at restoring broken and cracked teeth. Inlays, onlays, bonding, crowns, and veneers are examples of these. Tooth repair will protect your tooth from further damage and will help prevent decay from spreading to other teeth.
- Improves Oral Health - Cosmetic dental procedures may help improve oral health by improving your bite, repairing weak teeth, and improving overall function. This may help with preventing more serious dental problems in the future. Your oral health might also have an indirect connection to your overall health, given that food and nutrition get into your body via eating. Thus, improving oral health can alleviate some common health problems, which in turn may translate into better overall health.