Most people who are unhappy with the appearance of their teeth do not realize the numerous ways cosmetic care can heal a smile. Dental restorations can correct crooked teeth, spaces between your teeth, chipped teeth, broken or missing teeth, stained or discolored teeth and having a ‘gummy’ smile. We create a customized treatment plan for you, based on your age, goals and your comfort level financially.
Porcelain Veneers
Imagine a whiter, more brilliant smile! Placement of porcelain veneers is a conservative cosmetic treatment that makes a dramatic difference in the appearance of your teeth. If you have crooked teeth, chipped teeth, gaps in teeth or dull or stained teeth, veneers may be the perfect solution. Your dentist will skillfully create a straight, brilliant smile that enhances your appearance and your self-esteem.
Tooth Whitening – At Home
You can have the confidence that comes from a bright, white smile. If you are happy with the alignment and spacing of your teeth, a teeth whitening procedure may be all that separates you from a dazzling smile. Teeth whitening is safe, effective and long lasting. Your home whitening kit involves a special tray that is customized to fit over your teeth, to evenly disperse prescription whitening gel, which is inserted into the tray before you wear it. You can expect the entire home whitening process to take between two and four weeks, leaving you with a whiter, brighter smile. With home whitening, you can reuse your trays to touch up your smile whenever it needs a little boost.
Porcelain Bridges
If you’ve lost a tooth, a large gap in your smile can create significant problems for your dental health if left uncorrected. Gradually, your bite pressure may shift to other parts of your mouth to compensate for an inability to chew efficiently in the area of the missing tooth. Neighboring teeth may begin to move into the gap resulting in discomfort, pain and more problems in the future. To correct this, your dentist creates a functional, life-like bridge to correct your smile, restore your bite and alleviate your discomfort. After some preparation of the two neighboring teeth, crowns are created for them. A prosthetic tooth, or pontic, is fused between the crowns. Fixed bridges literally “bridge the gap” in your smile.
Porcelain Crowns
You can erase years of wear and tear with porcelain crowns. Your dentist uses a tooth-like crown made of porcelain to restore your tooth after the decay has been removed. Crowns are also used to restore damage including chipped teeth, broken teeth and gaps in teeth. Also called “caps,” porcelain crowns mimic natural-looking teeth in shape and color.
Tooth-Colored Fillings
If you need to fill a cavity, or want to replace dark, amalgam fillings, tooth-colored fillings are your solution. When the decay has been taken out of the tooth, it is replaced with “filling” material. With new advancements in dentistry, you can now have tooth-colored fillings instead of silver fillings, resulting in a long lasting, brighter, whiter smile. The new tooth-colored material is bonded to the teeth for a stronger restoration.
Bonding
Bonding is a tooth-colored material applied and adhered to the surface of the tooth, often without reducing the structure of the tooth. The bonding material is sculpted by your dentist so that it resembles a natural tooth, correcting chips, broken, stained or discolored teeth and in some cases correcting gaps. While it is less of an investment than porcelain veneers, bonding doesn’t last as long and can sometimes become stained from foods and beverages. We encourage you to come in and talk with the Bruggeman Dentistry team about your options.
Gum Contouring
Do you have a “gummy” smile? If so, you may be a good candidate for cosmetic contouring of your gum tissue. Dr. Paul and Kevin Bruggeman can give you a more aesthetic appearance when you smile by shaping and sculpting your gums, using a laser to minimize recovery time. This procedure can make a dramatic difference in the look of your smile…especially when combined with other cosmetic dentistry.