There are plenty of people with beautiful smiles but if you were in business or working out at the local gym, what first impression would a prospective employee, business partner or gym buddy have if your teeth were broken, crooked, missing or stained, versus Clean, natural looking and bright!
We are surrounded by magazine ads, television commercials, internet advertising and selfies! It takes a moment to see a beautiful smile selling something in the media. A good first impression begins the process of relationship building.
More importantly, is how do you feel about your own smile?
In dentistry, there are many different ways to improve your smile with a range of costs.
Tooth Whitening is an inexpensive way to whiten your smile. A pH balanced bleaching gel is placed in custom made trays which are typically worn at home for a few hours/days for 1-2 weeks or it can be completed in a single two hour in-office appointment with a stronger bleach. Whitening works especially well if your smile has yellowed from time and food. It will not whiten greyish teeth and teeth that are heavily restored with fillings or crowns. Plastic fillings and porcelain crowns do not whiten after they are placed in the mouth.
If your smile has many fillings or old crowns, then the whitening process becomes a little more involved. You will have to make a decision as to whether you want to replace some front fillings or crowns after the whitening process so that they better match the new brighter shade of your real teeth. Your new smile only gets so bright, then stops. It looks very natural.
What if you just don’t like the shape of your teeth. Are they worn or mildly twisted? Ceramic veneers look like fake fingernails but are shaped like beautiful teeth. They are conservative restorations that allow you to change the tooth’s shape and shade. Check out our Smile Gallery at www.SmilesOnSeven.com for real people before and after pictures! These tooth coverings are durable and shade stable and look amazing because they change the shape of your smile in about two weeks.
Orthodontics has come a long way in dentistry. If you would rather straighten your teeth due to some crowding, most cases don’t need old fashioned metal braces anymore. Invisalign are clear plastic trays that fit over your teeth like a glove and are just about invisible in your mouth when worn. You change trays every two weeks and the length of treatment is determined by the amount of crowding you want to correct. These trays gently squeeze your teeth into a straighter position and have the advantage of being removable.
Lastly, the least expensive treatment choice in order to maintain a beautiful healthy smile is determined by how well you take care of it. Be involved and have your hygienist discuss a good cleaning/recare program which suits your time and budget. This is fundamental to the health of your smile and will go a long way in making sure that the smile you do have lasts a lifetime!
Keep Smiling!
Dr Perry Lichtblau
Smiles On Seven Dental Centre
(905) 70-SMILE (707-6453)
