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Your smile is unique to you and a representation of who you are. When you’re unhappy with your teeth or the way your gums look, you avoid smiling, which can be difficult when you’re having a good time. There are many ways to improve a smile through cosmetic dentistry, but what’s the best way to improve yours? First, you have to identify what’s bothering you the most and make sure you have a healthy mouth.
1. Schedule Your Bi-Annual Dental Exam & Cleaning
The first step in improving your smile is getting x-rays and a cleaning done. Before you have cosmetic dentistry, you’ll need to address any oral health concerns. Our Las Vegas dentist looks for signs of these problems:
- Cavities
- Gum Disease
- TMJ Disorders
- Oral Cancer
In addition to looking for those developing issues, our dentist will clean and polish your teeth, which can improve the appearance of your teeth immensely. Share any changes in your well-being such as diabetes or heart disease as these conditions have been linked to poor dental health and may limit your cosmetic options.
2. Treat Any & All Oral Health Concerns
Cavities need to be filled before you have any aesthetic work done, even orthodontics. Why? Because untreated cavities progress quickly, they can lead to gum disease or exacerbate existing gum disease. They also erode the protective outer coating of your teeth known as enamel. Over time, the cavity destroys the pulp (inside) of the tooth, leading to an infection (abscess). The most effective way to eradicate the infection is to remove the tooth completely.
So, you’ve gone from needing a simple tooth-colored filling to losing a tooth. What’s more, once you’ve lost one tooth, you’re more likely to lose additional teeth because the remaining teeth begin to shift to cover the gap and your jaw bone degrades without consistent biting pressure. Your face will also lose its natural shape.
Gum disease is just as dangerous as an untreated cavity and comes in three phases:
- Gingivitis: The mild stage in which your gums swell, redden, and bleed easily. You may experience mild discomfort or none at all. Gingivitis is typically caused by poor dental hygiene. This is the prime reason you should brush your teeth (twice a day) and floss (daily or at least three times a week). Improving your dental habits can reverse gingivitis, but without intervention, gingivitis grows into periodontal disease.
- Periodontitis: This phase of gum disease occurs when the plaque on your teeth stretches beneath the gums, causing them swell even more and pull away from the teeth. This separation creates pockets where your gum line once was which collect bacteria. Periodontal treatments can reverse some of the damage from periodontitis before it progresses to stage three.
- Advanced Periodontitis: The final phase of gum disease causes bone loss due to the deterioration of your gum tissue that secured your teeth in place. Your teeth with become loose and begin to shift. You may lose one or more teeth or require tooth extraction upon treatment. Advanced periodontitis also causes chronic bad breath.
It’s essential to treat gum disease, cavities, and any other oral health issues before you have cosmetic work done. You want more than good-looking teeth. You want a healthy, stunning smile.
3. Determine What Aspect(s) of Your Smile You’d Like to Improve
Our dentist in Las Vegas offers a variety of cosmetic options for your teeth. The right treatment or procedure for you depends on what specifically you’d like to fix, such as crooked teeth with orthodontics (Invisalign®) or tooth staining with whitening treatments. Aside from those, some of the most popular cosmetic dentistry services we provide include:
- Smile Makeover: Corrects several problems at once such as a gummy smile, gapped teeth, and tooth stains through several cosmetic treatments.
- Porcelain Veneers: Thin shells permanently placed over your existing teeth to correct chips, cracks, and other aesthetic concerns. Lumineers® are similar to porcelain veneers but removable.
- Dental Implants: Necessary for both functional and cosmetic reasons. They can salvage your remaining teeth while also restoring your smile.
4. Schedule a Cosmetic Dentistry Consultation
You can discuss your cosmetic choices during your dental exam or schedule a free consultation to go over the details involved and whether you qualify. Dr. Pharar and Dr. Chin, trained at the esteemed Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Cosmetic Studies (LVI), which gave them the necessary skills and expertise to give patients healthy, beautiful teeth. At your appointment, our dentists will listen to what you do and don’t like about your smile and determine the best route to achieve your ideal look.
Why Should You Improve Your Smile?
Many men and women struggle with embarrassing teeth, and this hang up can seep into other aspects of your life as well. If you refrain from smiling, you may seem off-putting to your coworkers and friends, which may prevent you from landing that promotion or a second date. However, an unappealing smile can also be off-putting, creating a lose-lose situation. Improving your smile does more than give you pearly-whites. A good-looking smile enhances your overall life and provides room to grow in your work and personal life.
Cosmetic dentistry can boost your confidence, so you never have to hide your smile again.
If you’re interested in cosmetic dentistry, please contact Drs. Chin in Las Vegas today at (702) 445-7075 to schedule your dental exam and consultation. Our experienced dentists provide cosmetic, general and emergency dentistry as well as TMJ and sleep apnea treatment to patients in Summerlin, Henderson, Las Vegas and surrounding Nevada areas.