Is it like a facelift?

If you think cosmetic dentistry is self-indulgent, you could be forgiven for doing so, especially if you are a watcher of reality TV shows, where it seems that everyone has switched their natural teeth for those of Johnny Depp’s Willy Wonka — too white, too evenly lined up, so perfect in every way that they are actually rather creepy.

Yes, cosmetic dentistry can achieve this, but it can also give people back the smile they would have otherwise lost, or the smile they wish they could have. At Smile Stories in Bournemouth, cosmetic dentistry often comes after some kind of remedial dental work, rather than on its own.

The possibilities

Veneers, for example, are fantastic if your teeth have taken a battering in some way and bits of them have broken off. This can often be the case with the top front teeth, which are often the first to break when someone falls off their bike, or bashes into someone else. Veneers can cover up a broken tooth in only 2 appointments and will keep their beauty for over 10 years if you look after them.

Cosmetic braces can straighten teeth that are misaligned, but don’t deal with bite issues. Yes, they make the teeth look great, but they also make it more likely that the teeth will last longer. When all the teeth are lined up, the pressure created by chewing is evenly distributed, instead of only some of the teeth taking the strain. Teeth are less liable to be ground down through over-use. They are also easier to keep when there are fewer hard-to-get-at nooks and crannies that plaque can build up in. This means less chance of decay and infection.

This is where teeth whitening comes in. If people have been using braces that are fixed to their teeth, when the treatment comes to an end, the braces, which were cemented onto their teeth, finally come off. This great unveiling can often be made even more amazing if the patient has teeth whitening treatment. This can also get rid of any mild staining that may have happened around the brackets during treatment.