What is cosmetic dentistry?

Cosmetic dentistry is comprehensive oral care that combines art and science to improve dental health, aesthetics and function. A cosmetic dentist is a dentist who has decided to take the SCIENCE of dentistry and merge it with the ART of Dentistry. There isn't currently a Cosmetic dentist specialty. However, there are dentists who take extra efforts to truly become a cosmetic dentist. Often people think that placing white fillings in a tooth make someone a cosmetic dentist. This is not actually the case. White fillings can be an aspect of a cosmetic dentist's services, but a filling can be white and not be very natural looking. Cosmetic dentists spend their careers studying the art of dentistry; the colors, shapes, anatomy, light transmission, and overall vibrancy of natural teeth. This understanding is what separates a cosmetic dentist and a dentist who just does white fillings. Cosmetic dentists look at teeth as unique sculptures with a palate of colors and reflections of light. The options a cosmetic dentist offers can be as simple as replacing silver or amalgam fillings with a porcelain or composite resin tooth colored fillings. When done properly tooth restorations should match color and contour and almost disappear into the surrounding tooth. The other extreme could involve a cosmetic dentist reconstructing an entire smile that may have teeth that are fractured, broken, rotated, stained fillings and misaligned bite and transform it into a dental, artistic masterpiece. Cosmetic dentistry can also involve lip augmentation with Juvederm for a fuller smile and wrinkle treatments with BOTOX. These smile makeovers by a cosmetic dentist can be so natural that a dentist could see them and have to take a closer look to tell the difference. Teeth can be whitened, crowned, veneered, moved with invisalign or tooth colored braces, or even reshaped by a cosmetic dentist. You couldn't drive 5 minutes without seeing a sign for cosmetic dentistry somewhere. Most patients are not really sure who to trust with their smile. A Cosmetic dentist who is experienced and qualified will have no problem showing patients several examples of cosmetic work they personally created and answer all your questions and address all your concerns. When looking at the pictures notice the vibrancy of the cosmetic dentist's work. Do the teeth up close look real? Does the light pass through them like a natural tooth? Looking white doesn't necessarily mean teeth look real or natural.