Give Yourself a Reason to Smile

A smile can be the most eye-catching feature of a face. With dentistry's many advances, you no longer have to settle for stained, chipped, or teeth that are not shaped to your liking. You now have choices that can help you smile with confidence.

Even the most subtle change in your smile can make a dramatic difference in the way you look and feel about yourself. In many cases, we will implement a combination of several of the following procedures to give you that perfect smile.

Teeth Whitening

Tooth enamel discoloration can be caused by staining, aging, or chemical damage to teeth. Some of the more common causes of tooth discoloration are medications, coffee, tea or cigarettes. People who drink significant amounts of cola soft drinks can experience similar staining. Damage to the root may also contribute to discoloration.

Aside from staining, there are other factors that can affect the color of a tooth. Genetics can play a role. Some people have naturally brighter enamel than others. Link to our Portfolio to see the effects of various whitening procedures.

Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain veneers are ultra-thin shells of ceramic material, which are bonded to the front of teeth. This procedure can be the ideal choice for improving the appearance of the front teeth. Porcelain veneers are placed to mask discolorations, to brighten teeth, and to improve a smile. Highly resistant to permanent staining from coffee, tea, or even cigarette smoking, the wafer-thin porcelain veneers can achieve a tenacious bond to the tooth, resulting in an aesthetically pleasing naturalness that is unsurpassed by other restorative options. Please visit our Portfolio to see before and after pictures of smiles that have been enhanced using this procedure.

Fillings

Today's dental fillings are much more natural and stronger than the typical metal fillings of our youth. Dental fillings are now color matched to the rest of your teeth for a great smile. More patients today are requesting white or tooth-coloured composite fillings. Sometimes white fillings are preferable because they bond better to the tooth structure and therefore help strengthen a tooth weakened by decay. Unfortunately, white fillings have limitations based on the size of the tooth that remains after the decay has been removed. Please visit our Portfolio section to see the before and after pictures of teeth that have had their silver fillings replaced with white fillings.

Onlays/Inlays/Partial Crowns

A porcelain inlay or onlay or partial ceramic crown is a piece of porcelain that fits into or onto the tooth. It holds the tooth together and makes the tooth stronger while keeping the tooth looking natural. Please visit our Portfolio to see before and after pictures of all these procedures.

Crowns

Crowns are restorations that cover or cap teeth, restoring them to their natural size, shape, and color. Even a poorly maintained or badly damaged tooth can benefit from a well designed and correctly placed crown. This crown not only helps appearance, but it also can save a tooth that might otherwise be lost. This procedure is used when there is not enough healthy tooth structure to bond an inlay/onlay or partial crown to. Please visit our Portfolio to see before and after pictures of this procedure.

Bonding

Bonding is the application of a tooth-coloured composite resin (plastic) to repair a decayed, chipped, fractured or discoloured tooth. Unlike veneers, which are manufactured in a laboratory and require a customized mold to achieve a proper fit, bonding can be done in a single visit. The procedure is called bonding because the material bonds to the tooth.

Bonding is among the easiest and least expensive of cosmetic dental procedures. The composite resin used in bonding can be shaped and polished to match the surrounding teeth. Most often, bonding is used for cosmetic purposes to improve the appearance of a discoloured or chipped tooth. It also can be used to close spaces between teeth, to make teeth look longer or to change the shape or color of teeth.

Sometimes, bonding also is used as a cosmetic alternative to amalgam fillings, or to protect a portion of the tooth's root that has been exposed when gums recede. Please visit our Portfolio to see before and after pictures of this procedure.

Bridges

If you are missing one or more teeth and there is at least one serviceable tooth on either side of the space where the teeth are missing, then you may opt for a fixed bridge to replace those missing teeth if filling the empty space with an implant is not an option for you.

The teeth adjacent to the empty space are referred to as abutment teeth. The abutment teeth are prepared by "shaving" them down so that they are smaller, and their sides are slightly tapered and reasonably parallel to each other. This makes it possible to create a casting which will fit over the prepared abutment teeth. Usually the casting is a metal substructure which will eventually be covered with tooth-coloured porcelain. Please visit our Portfolio to see before and after pictures of this procedure.

Implants

A dental implant is an artificial tooth root that a periodontist places into your jaw to hold a replacement tooth or bridge. Dental implants are an ideal option for people in good general oral health who have lost a tooth or teeth due to periodontal disease, an injury, or some other reason.

While high-tech in nature, dental implants are actually more tooth-saving than traditional bridgework, since implants do not rely on neighbouring teeth for support.

Dental implants are so natural-looking and feeling, you may forget you ever lost a tooth. You know that your confidence about your teeth affects how you feel about yourself, both personally and professionally. Perhaps you hide your smile because of spaces from missing teeth. Maybe your dentures don't feel secure. Perhaps you have difficulty chewing. If you are missing one or more teeth and would like to smile, speak and eat again with comfort and confidence, there is good news! Dental implants are teeth that can look and feel just like your own! Under proper conditions, such as placement by a Periodontist and diligent patient maintenance, implants can last a lifetime. Long-term studies continue to show improving success rates for implants. Please visit our Portfolio Portfolio to see before and after pictures of this procedure.

Tooth Contouring and Reshaping

Re-contouring is one of the most conservative cosmetic procedures. It is an effective way to correct minor imperfections, and also can improve overall dental health by removing crevices or overlaps in which plaque or tartar can accumulate.

However, re-contouring is not a substitute for veneers or bonding. If your teeth have substantial imperfections - a deep chip or fracture, for example, or large fillings from earlier procedures - re-contouring probably won't be recommended.

You should understand what re-contouring can and can't do for you so you have realistic expectations. When tooth imperfections can't be eliminated with re-contouring, we may combine the treatment with bonding, in which a composite resin is used to patch fractures, chips or cavities.

Because re-contouring is minimally invasive, it is a procedure that can be done without freezing the gum. Most people will need one to two visits to complete the treatment.

Cosmetic Gum Surgery

A "Gummy Smile" or a "Long Tooth Smile" are corrected through gum surgery. Gingivectomy refers to the removal of gum tissue (gingiva), and gingivoplasty is the surgical reshaping of gum tissue around your teeth. Please visit our
Portfolio to see before and after pictures of this procedure.

Dentures

Dentures often solve a host of dental problems. A tooth or teeth can be replaced with either a fixed or a removable prosthesis. A denture is a removable replacement for a missing tooth or teeth. Complete dentures replace all teeth while partial dentures replace one to several teeth. Please visit our Portfolio to see before and after pictures of this procedure.