One of the first things that people notice when they meet someone is their smile. Unfortunately, many people don’t follow their dentist’s recommendation to come in twice a year for a checkup and cleaning. Because of this many people are left having a smile that leaves little to be desired.
Fortunately, there are several ways that people are able to have a dentist improve their smile. The following are 4 of the most common procedures that people have received at the dentist to cure their smile.
1) Regular Checkups and Cleanings
The simplest and least expensive way to keep a smile looking good is to get regular checkups. It doesn’t matter where you go in Canada: you can find a dentist out west that will provide the best dental in Calgary, NW or offices on the East Coast in places like Prince Edward Island that will offer a fantastic checkup.
When a patient goes in for a regular checkup the dentist will begin by taking some x-rays to check for any cavities that may be forming and aren’t visible to the naked eye. Once this is done, the dentist will perform a cleaning. This involves having any plaque scraped off of the enamel of the teeth followed by a good polishing. This makes the teeth look pearly white when a patient smiles.
2) Having Fillings Put in
This is the second most common way for people to work on fixing their smiles. While fillings generally will never be seen except when the mouth is opened up all the way it is an important procedure to keep a smile from getting infected due to cavities.
Dentists take care of cavities by first drilling into the area surrounding the cavity so that all the affected enamel is removed. Then they will fill the hole that has been made with either an epoxy resin or metal like gold to seal the area where the cavity had been. This procedure can be a bit intimidating because the sound of the drill is disconcerting, but fillings will keep any damaged teeth from getting worse.
3) Cosmetic Dentistry
This is a term that covers a range of dental procedures that are specifically designed to keep teeth looking their best whether they have been chipped, cracked or stained. Crowns and bridges are the two most common procedures as they are specifically designed to repair broken teeth. They are fixed prosthetic devices that are placed onto the existing teeth or implants with cement.
A crown is used when one tooth needs to be repaired either by covering a damaged tooth or to cover up an implant that may have been drilled into the jaw. Bridges, on the other hand, are used to cover spaces where one or more teeth may have been. They are similar to dentures except instead of being glued in just for the day they are affixed permanently to fix and spaces in your smile.
Other cosmetic dental procedures are teeth whitening. A dentist will put a paste or solution onto the teeth to help get rid of any stains that may appear due to smoking or drinking coffee, although there are numerous other ways a tooth can become stained.
4) Braces
This is by far one of the most expensive dental options, but it is well worth the cost. Usually, a patient has to see an Orthodontist who will take molds of the teeth to determine how to position the teeth into a perfect smile.
It can take several years of monthly visits to fix a crooked smile with braces, which is why many patients are turning to the Invisalign system for fixing smiles. This is a system that involved placing a clear tray over the teeth that gently move them into the desired place. The trays are changed out every few weeks and they tend to straighten a smile in half the time of traditional braces, which also makes them a less expensive option.
Bottom Line
There are many dental procedures that will help with the way a smile appears. Depending on the underlying problem, patients have several options across all price ranges to fix their smiles. While it may not be the most enjoyable thing to have done the end results always lead to a patient having a big smile they will be proud of.