Considering Cosmetic Dentistry Services from Reiser Dental?
We all want to look and feel our best. Unfortunately, some of us just don’t feel comfortable with the appearance of our smiles. Instead of hiding your teeth when you laugh and speak, consider your cosmetic dentistry options. If you have a broken tooth, gapped teeth, or discoloration, Reiser Dental has a solution to help you. Cosmetic dentistry can address all of these issues and more. Simply consult with our trusted dentist and we can help you choose the cosmetic dentistry service best suited for your needs. From teeth whitening to preventative measures, Reiser Dental has the services and expertise you need to restore and maintain your smile.
What is cosmetic dentistry?
One of the first questions we get is "What is cosmetic dentistry?" Cosmetic dentistry is just a portion of dentistry where we work on cosmetics, or how your aesthetics and how your smile look. Cosmetic dentistry is usually us doing something to try to make the appearance of your teeth a little bit better.
How would I know if cosmetic dentistry is right for me or my family?
Well, there are multiple ways you could decide if cosmetic dentistry is right for you. The main thing is, are you happy with your smile? Do you stay away from smiling fully in photos? Would you rather not have a photo taken of your smile? Simple situations like this can lead you to think that maybe cosmetic dentistry is right for you in order to brighten up that smile a little bit and make you want to smile in front of everybody.
What's the difference between cosmetic dentistry and general dentistry?
To be honest with you, there's not much difference at all between the two. They're both there to help keep your teeth healthy and functioning correctly. General dentistry can sometimes involve less cosmetic situations, like taking care of a cavity or a broken tooth, or you may need a crown. In cosmetic dentistry, we're really focusing on just making that smile look as good as it possibly can for the way you want it to look.
How can a cosmetic dentist fix my teeth?
There are multiple ways depending on what the issues are. We have all kinds of options here to fix them. If you have a minor chip, some staining, discoloration, or shifting of your teeth, we have multiple options to correct those. We have veneers, clear aligners to move your teeth to get them in the position that we want them to, composites, crowns, all to replace tooth structure, help out with issues with teeth, or just make them look a little bit better all around.
Can cosmetic dentistry improve my smile?
Definitely, it can. The main reason we do cosmetic dentistry is to make that smile look and feel a little bit better. Depending on the issues and what's going on with your smile, cosmetic dentistry is here to help make it exactly the way we want it to be.
Can cosmetic dentistry fix an overbite?
I've also been asked a few times if cosmetic dentistry can fix an overbite, and that really depends on the overbite itself. We have minor overbites, major overbites. Some overbites we can fix with just simple composites or veneers. Other overbites might be a little bit more involved where we would need to do clear aligners or braces to move your teeth first to the position we want in order to correct that overbite.
Can a cosmetic dentist fix crooked teeth?
Yes, they definitely can. Again, cosmetic dentistry and general dentistry are kind of one and the same. One's mainly focusing on function and health, while the other one is focusing on appearance and how we want it to look. Both can correct crooked or crowded teeth or misaligned teeth. Usually, it involves moving the teeth first, but sometimes in minor situations, simple composites or veneers can take care of them. They can definitely take care of the issue.
How old should a child be before considering cosmetic dentistry? Can a cosmetic dentist work with young children?
We also get questions about how old a patient should be before we consider cosmetic dentistry. That's kind of a double-edged sword question here. Normally with children, we just try to keep everything as simple as possible, keeping everything healthy with no major issues, trying to do as little work as possible. But there's no real age limit for cosmetic dentistry. I've had patients under five years old with a little chip on a front tooth or a bump or changed color where we can simply add composite to change the color to make the aesthetics look the way we want it. It's really up to the parents and the patient, which being that young doesn't get to make the decision, on if we decide it's necessary or wanted. But really, there's no real age limit on cosmetic dentistry and being able to take care of it.
Is there any point where someone is too old or not well enough for cosmetic dentistry?
We also get the question of whether patients are ever too old to have cosmetic dentistry done or if there are other situations that prevent it. Honestly, there are no limitations for this. There is no age limit for cosmetic dentistry. I just saw a patient who was 93 with a little discoloration chip on their front tooth, and we took care of it for them. That's considered cosmetic dentistry. Again, it can be as old as you want, as young as you want, and we'll just work with you and what your wants and desires are, and we'll make the best decision if it's necessary or not.
How can cosmetic dentistry change the structure of my mouth?
Multiple ways depending on what we're trying to do appearance-wise with your teeth. Sometimes we might open your bite a little bit. Sometimes we can close your bite a little bit.
With cosmetic dentistry, we can also rotate, change the shape, size, and function of your teeth. Depending on your initial bite function and how you're working with your teeth right now, sometimes you can change it, usually for the better in terms of how we want you to function and work with that.
When is cosmetic dentistry considered oral surgery?
That really depends on the situation and what we're doing here. Depending on what we're trying to fix and the aesthetics that we're trying to improve and the appearance we're trying to get. Sometimes, depending on your bite, your jaw, how your teeth are coming together, we might involve an oral surgeon to help with the process of maybe replacing missing teeth, adding teeth, removing teeth, and other issues along those lines.
What are the advantages and benefits of cosmetic dentistry?
There are multiple. The main thing is with cosmetic dentistry, we're trying to get our patients happy with their smile. We want someone to be able to talk to someone, smile, take photos without having to worry about self-consciously thinking about how their teeth look.
Cosmetic dentistry can change the size, shape, functions, and appearance of your teeth just to make you comfortable with how your teeth look, how they feel, and how they function.
What is the process I can expect to go through if I get cosmetic dentistry?
With cosmetic dentistry, it all depends on the severity and how much work we're trying to do here. It can be as simple as a small composite on your front tooth to fix a chip or change a color, all the way up to placing six to seven implants and replacing all of your teeth with a fixed denture.
Depending on your situation and what we're leading into, the type of work we need to do varies quite differently, and we take our time here to explain all this with each patient on an individual basis.
Is cosmetic dentistry painful?
I always answer the same thing with all dentistry: none of it should be painful. We have all kinds of advances in technology today where we can provide pain-free dentistry across the board. That can involve our local numbing with topical gel, injections, nitrous, the laughing gas. We strive here at Reiser Dental to be able to provide all sorts of dentistry with very minimal discomfort, if any at all.
What anesthesia options will be available during a cosmetic dental procedure?
During cosmetic dental procedures, we have all kinds of anesthetic options available for you. We start out with the simplest: a simple injection with lidocaine like most people know, where we get local numbness around the area that we're working on and take care of it.
We recommend laughing gas, nitrous, for most of our patients. It just helps ease the situation, calms you down, and makes everything a little more comfortable. In more in-depth, more involved cases, IV sedation is also an option where we will put you to sleep, you come in, you fall asleep, the work's done, and then we move forward with the treatment. There are all kinds of options to keep you comfortable while you're here at Reiser Dental taking care of your teeth.
How long will it take for me to recover from a cosmetic dental procedure?
As with all dentistry, it depends on the involvement with the treatment that we're doing. A simple cosmetic fix of a one-tooth procedure, normally, as you leave the office, you're back to normal, good to go.
If we get more involved, doing surgeries, placing implants, involving the gums and bones, sometimes it can take a little longer. But depending on the case, it's usually a relatively pain-free recovery time.
You're usually back to using your teeth the same day, if not relatively soon. More often than not, depending on the severity and depth of the procedure, no matter what we're doing, as you leave this office, you'll leave with a smile that you're willing to show your friends.
Will I need to follow any specific directions after cosmetic dentistry?
It's pretty much the same thing. Right now, with your natural teeth the way they are before we do any dentistry, we're expecting you to keep them healthy, clean, and follow up with your dental appointments so we can monitor everything to make sure it's doing well.
After cosmetic dentistry, it's pretty much the same. It's your teeth; we're just trying to have you keep them clean, functioning well. It's the same as before. We'll work with you as we go through the process on what you need to do to maintain it as clean as possible.
Depending on the situation, it's an individualized plan. Each person, for their specific situation, we'll go through more detailed situations and things that we want you to do to keep your teeth nice and healthy and clean.
Is cosmetic dentistry covered by insurance?
Insurances in general are the devil. They're not good, and they really don't care about your teeth at all. That being said, we work with every patient to do everything we can to try to take advantage of your insurance company.
More often than not, the insurance company isn't going to know if it's cosmetic or just normal dentistry. It's not really a situation of whether your insurance will cover cosmetic dentistry; it's more a situation of whether your insurance is going to cover you.
We'll work with your insurance back and forth as much as we can to get them coverage. More often than not, we will get coverage for what we're doing. If not, we'll work with you with any type of payment plan that we can to make sure that we can take care of the teeth the way you want to.
If my insurance won't cover the cost of cosmetic dentistry, are there any financing options available?
We have all kinds of payment plans and options at Reiser Dental. If your insurance company denies your claim for cosmetic dentistry, first, we would resubmit it with different verbiage to try to get it covered.
As I said before, insurance companies really don't care about you. They're just trying to get your money and get you in and out. Honestly, a patient with no teeth is an insurance company's favorite patient. We would circumvent all the little hurdles and leaps and bounds they put in front of us, work with your insurance company to make sure they pay. If they are unwilling to pay for it, we would work with you on a payment plan that would work best for your situation, time, and what we need to do for your cosmetic smile.
Common Cosmetic Treatments and Procedures at Reiser Dental
Brighten Your Smile with Teeth Whitening
Teeth whitening is among our most popular cosmetic dentistry services at Reiser Dental. This treatment is one of the most affordable ways to improve your smile. Plus, the procedure itself is quick when compared to other examples of family cosmetic dentistry. Reiser Dental offers plenty of in-office products to give you the white smile you deserve. While you could try at-home whitening kits, you can’t match the results you’ll find when you choose professional dental treatment services.
Shield Your Teeth with Veneers
If you have misshapen or discolored teeth, veneers may be an excellent option for you. These thin shells shield your teeth, giving you the appearance of beautiful, straight teeth. The procedure is relatively simple. We remove a small portion of your tooth and bond customized veneers to the surface of your teeth. Once properly placed, veneers look natural and resist staining in the future.
Inlays and Onlays: Indirect Cosmetic Solutions
Often referred to as indirect fillings, inlays and onlays preserve as much of a damaged tooth as possible. Although you’ll keep most of your tooth, you’ll still come away from the procedure with a natural, beautiful look. At Reiser Dental, we recommend this option for those with decayed or damaged teeth not in need of a dental crown. Depending on your circumstances, we can use this treatment to fill a damaged tooth or repair a tooth’s surface.
Top Off Your Tooth with a Dental Crown
Severely decayed or damaged teeth can be fixed with a quick dental crown procedure. We perform this treatment often at Reiser Dental, and we’re happy to explain the process to you. At your first visit, we’ll take an impression of your tooth and send that information to a dental lab. There, they’ll construct a custom dental crown to restore your tooth to its natural appearance. We can even match the color of your crown to the exact shade of your existing teeth.
Restore Your Smile with Dental Bridges
For our patients missing multiple teeth, dental bridges might be the solution. This treatment is aimed toward those with several missing teeth in a row, but otherwise good oral health. If you think this cosmetic procedure might be for you, schedule a visit to Reiser Dental. Our team will evaluate your oral health and determine if your surrounding teeth are healthy enough to support a dental bridge.
Align Your Teeth without Metal Braces
If you’d like straight teeth but aren’t excited at the idea of wearing metal braces for months on end, talk to Reiser Dental about Invisalign®. As part of our family cosmetic dentistry services, this treatment gently guides your teeth into the desired position without the discomfort of wearing traditional braces. You’ll need to visit our office for a few follow-ups, where we’ll adjust your Invisalign® aligners. Other than that, home care is simple! You can remove your aligners when it’s time to brush or eat, so you won’t need to create a new oral hygiene routine or sacrifice your favorite snacks. Be sure to ask us about this option!
Explore Our List of Procedures and Get in Touch with Us
Whether you’re looking to fix broken teeth or find a remedy for discoloration, Reiser Dental has a cosmetic solution for you. Our cosmetic dentistry services are trusted for their quality results. Although results may vary among patients, most come away satisfied with their enhanced appearance. Our team wants you to have the smile you’ve always wanted. Choose from our long list of cosmetic procedures and get in touch with our office today.