Restoring a beautiful smile is the ultimate goal of aesthetic (cosmetic) dentistry. Common aesthetic dental procedures can be performed to correct misshaped, discolored, chipped or missing teeth. They also can be used to change the overall shape of teeth from teeth that are too long or short, have gaps or simply need to be reshaped. Each treatment will significantly alter your smile.
Some of the common cosmetic treatments:
• Veneers - There's no reason to put up with gaps in your teeth or with teeth that are stained, badly shaped or crooked. In just two or three dental visits, a veneer can transform your smile. Veneers are special thin laminates made of porcelain or composite materials. The process involves buffing the tooth and removing an extremely thin layer of the tooth to allow for the thickness of the veneer. An impression of the tooth is made and a veneer is molded by a lab technician. The veneer is then bonded to the tooth with special cement and a special light is used to complete the process. Because veneers require a small amount of enamel to be removed, they are permanent and non-reversible and will do wonders for your smile.
• Tooth Colored Restorations –
- Composite Fillings: Composite fillings are a mixture of glass or quartz filler in a resin medium that produces a tooth-colored filling. They are sometimes referred to as composites or filled resins. Composite fillings provide good durability and resistance to fracture in small-to-mid size restorations that need to withstand moderate chewing pressure. Less tooth structure is removed when the dentist prepares the tooth, and this may result in a smaller filling than that of an amalgam. Composites can also be "bonded" or adhesively held in a cavity, often allowing the dentist to make a more conservative repair to the tooth.
- Ionomers Glass ionomers are translucent, tooth-colored materials made of a mixture of acrylic acids and fine glass powders that are used to fill cavities, particularly those on the root surfaces of teeth. Glass ionomers are primarily used in areas not subject to heavy chewing pressure. Because they have a low resistance to fracture, glass ionomers are mostly used in small non-load bearing fillings (those between the teeth) or on the roots of teeth.
- Resin ionomers also are made from glass filler with acrylic acids and acrylic resin. They also are used for very small, non-load bearing fillings (between the teeth), on the root surfaces of teeth, and they have low to moderate resistance to fracture.
Bonding – A procedure in which tooth-colored material is used to close gaps or change tooth color.
Contouring and Reshaping – A technique that straightens crooked, chipped, cracked or overlapping teeth.
Whitening and Bleaching – A popular procedure for the whitening and brightening of teeth.
Bridges and Crowns - Crowns are synthetic caps, usually made of a material like porcelain, that are placed on top of a tooth. Bridges are natural looking dental appliances that can replace sections of missing teeth.
Check with the professionals in our office to find out which techniques are best suited to improve your smile.
Alan L. Mazer, D.M.D.
140 Terryville Road
Port Jefferson Station,
New York 11776
(631) 473-0666
(631) 875-3747 - After Hours Emergency Number
(631) 473-0679 - fax
