Even if you don't suffer from any dental health problems, you may be unsatisfied with the appearance of your teeth. Cosmetic dentists provide an invaluable service to their patients who are unhappy with the color, shape, or straightness of their teeth. Here are four techniques that cosmetic dentists use to correct any dental imperfections.

Resin Fillings

Few things can have as great an impact on the appearance of your smile as cavities on the front teeth. Fillings are an effective treatment for cavities, but most standard fillings are metallic and noticeably stand out from the color of your teeth. Cosmetic dentists can solve this problem by using white fillings rather than metallic ones.

White cosmetic fillings are made from a mixture of glass and plastic known as composite resin. Once the filling is placed, hardened with a UV light, and polished, it will be virtually indistinguishable from enamel. Your dentist may whiten your teeth during the same visit if necessary so that the new filling won't be too bright compared to your teeth.

Dental Bonding

Dental resin has other uses besides filling cavities in teeth. Through a process known as dental bonding, a cosmetic dentist can use resin to correct teeth that are misshapen or chipped. The resin is applied to the outside of the damaged tooth and hardened, and then sculpted to restore the original appearance of the tooth.

In addition to restoring individual teeth, dental bonding can reduce the appearance of gaps between your teeth. Resin is applied to the teeth on either side of the gap to widen them and reduce the space between them. In some cases, the dentist may only need to apply resin to a single tooth to fix gaps if the tooth is significantly undersized.

Tooth sensitivity is another problem that can be solved with dental bonding. Sensitivity to temperature, sugar, or acidity is usually caused by erosion of enamel or recession of the gums that exposes the roots of the teeth. Placing a layer of resin over the exposed root will eliminate sensitivity by protecting it in the same way that your gums or enamel did previously.

Cosmetic Contouring

Cosmetic contouring can be thought of as the inverse procedure to dental bonding. While bonding increases the size of teeth by adding material (resin), contouring reduces the size of teeth by removing small portions of enamel. A sanding tool is used to painlessly reshape teeth that are oversized, misshapen, or too sharp.

Contouring can be used to great effect to fix an overcrowded smile. By removing the sections of the teeth that are touching, natural-looking gaps can be created between the teeth. This can greatly improve comfort by reducing pressure in the mouth caused by teeth that are growing into one another or overlapping.

Porcelain Veneers

Some of the most stubborn discoloration may still show on your teeth no matter how many times they are whitened. These discolorations are usually not stains, but dark spots caused by decay in the tooth pulp. The spots will show through tooth enamel because it is partially transparent. Cosmetic dentists can use porcelain veneers to cover this discoloration.

Porcelain veneers are thin laminates that coat the outer surface of the tooth. Porcelain is more stain resistant than both enamel and dental composite, making it the perfect choice for veneers. Porcelain is also a highly resilient material that often keep teeth looking perfectly white for 10 to 15 years without repair or replacement.

Cosmetic dentists have a wide variety of tools and procedures at their disposal to correct virtually any aesthetic problems with your smile. Contact us at University Dental PA today for the bright, healthy smile you've always wanted!