Smile Makeovers | Porcelain Veneers | Crowns | White Fillings | Whitening | Gum Sculpting
Smile Makeovers
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Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are thin shells of ceramic that bond directly to the front surfaces of the teeth. This procedure requires little or no anesthesia, and 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 esthetically pleasing naturalness that is unsurpassed by other restorative options.
Case 1
Patient presented with large discolored fillings, misaligned teeth and unsightly white spots. The teeth were also rather dark in color overall, necessitating whitening.
After veneers are placed. The color, shape and alignment of the teeth are dramatically improved!
Why a porcelain veneer?
Veneers are a fantastic way to fix front teeth. You can whiten your teeth, close spaces, and create a great smile. We can even do virtually instant orthodontics to straighten crooked teeth.
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Spaces between the teeth (diastemas)
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Broken or chipped teeth
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Unsightly, stained or washed out fillings
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Permanently stained or discolored teeth
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Misshapen or crooked teeth
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Whiten dark yellow or stained teeth
Have you ever wished you had better-looking teeth without all the hassle of braces (orthodontics) or crowns (caps)? NOW YOU CAN! Porcelain veneers are the answer for instant orthodontics to straighten smiles, close spaces, reshape, and accomplish minor realignment of your teeth. You can even have that "Hollywood" smile you've always wanted.
Porcelain veneers are an excellent alternative to crowns in many situations. They provide a much more conservative approach to changing a tooth's color, size, or shape. Porcelain veneers can mask undesirable defects, such as teeth stained by tetracycline, by an injury, or as a result of a root-canal procedure, and are ideal for masking discolored fillings in front teeth. Patients with gaps between their front teeth or teeth that are chipped or worn may consider porcelain veneers.
Generally, veneers will last for many years, and the technique has shown remarkable longevity when properly performed, often far surpassing the longevity of traditional white filling materials.
Placing custom veneers requires a high degree of technical skill as well as attention to cosmetic detail. We place veneers routinely, and design each case individually to match and enhance the characteristics of each patient's smile.
Case 2
Prior to preparation, this patient presented with a large, discolored filling on her upper left lateral incisor, uneven tooth lengths and unusual coloration patterns.
After carefully sculpting the gum tissues to lengthen the teeth, four veneers were fabricated, immediately improving the appearance.
What happens during the procedure?
Patients need three appointments for the entire procedure: diagnosis and treatment planning, preparation and temporization, and bonding.
Diagnosis and treatment planning: It's critical that you take an active role in the smile design. We spend time in the decision-making and planning of the smile, determining what your esthetic goals are and discussing all treatment options. Often, we make impressions (molds) of your teeth and create a mock-up on stone models to help determine the appropriate treatment.
Preparation of teeth: This appointment will usually take from one to two hours, during which time the teeth are lightly buffed to allow for the small added thickness of the veneer. Usually, about a half a millimeter of the tooth is removed, sometimes necessitating the use of local anesthetic. At this appointment, an impression is made of the teeth, which is sent to the laboratory for the fabrication of the veneers. In order to give the laboratory the greatest amount of information, and ensure the best possible result, we also send digital photos demonstrating the color and translucencies of the teeth.
Temporization: We believe that from the moment we prepare your teeth you should see a dramatic improvement in your appearance. Therefore, after preparation, we take time to carefully craft provisional or temporary veneers using tooth colored acrylic materials. This serves to not only protect the teeth and prevent sensitivity but also to enhance your smile, and help provide you a preview of the final result, demonstrating the shape, size and color. Once the provisional veneers are crafted, we often make an impression of these and take digital photographs to communicate our desires to the laboratory.
Bonding of veneers: This appointment will take about one or two hours. After carefully removing the provisional veneers, we try on the new porcelain veneers, assessing their fit, shape, and color. After making any adjustments, the veneers are bonded to the teeth using the appropriate color, and are polished to a high shine. Once bonded, the veneers are incredibly strong, permitting you to eat and drink immediately.
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Crowns
Crowns, often called “caps”, are dental restorations that are placed over the tooth. As such, crowns can greatly increase the strength of the tooth. Crowns can be made of a variety of materials, including porcelain or gold, with the choice of material for the crown selected specifically according the patient’s esthetic and functional needs.
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Crowns are recommended for a variety of reasons:
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Large failing restorations- as a general rule, when more filling material is present than sound tooth structure, a crown is often required to prevent tooth fracture. Large, old silver feelings are very typical of this
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Fractured or cracked teeth – teeth that have already suffered a fracture usually require a crown to properly restore the tooth to its proper form and function and prevent further propagation of the crack
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Root canal therapy – teeth that have had root canal therapy usually require a crown to prevent fracture of the tooth
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Severely worn teeth – crowns can easily restore worn teeth to their natural length and appearance
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Partial Crowns and Onlays
Because it is always preferable to preserve healthy tooth structure, we often recommend partial crowns (also called ¾ crowns or onlays) rather than full crowns. Partial crowns are ideal when large fillings compromise only a specific area of a tooth, or when a small amount of tooth breaks off. Like full crowns, partial crowns can be made of porcelain or gold.
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White Fillings
At Sonne and Shapiro Dental PC, we believe that white composite resin fillings are an excellent treatment alternative and often the restoration of choice for small to medium size fillings. One of the primary advantages of white fillings is that they are remarkably lifelike and can be made to blend seamlessly with your teeth. Not only can they be used to cosmetically makeover teeth previously restored with silver fillings, they are also an excellent and inexpensive means of cosmetically reshaping teeth. They are a wonderful way to revitalize a smile!
The most important property of white fillings is their strong bond to tooth structure. This gives white fillings many distinct advantages over older, silver fillings:
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White fillings can help strengthen teeth - because of their remarkably strong bond to tooth structure, white fillings can strengthen and prevent fracture of severely damaged teeth. In contrast, silver fillings weaken teeth and often cause tooth fracture.
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White fillings can be made smaller – because white fillings bond to tooth structure, it is not necessary to remove additional tooth structure beyond that which is decayed. As a result, white fillings need only be as large as the cavity itself. In contrast, silver fillings require the removal of substantial amounts of additional tooth structure.
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White fillings provide an excellent seal against bacteria – due to their high bond strength, white fillings help to seal out bacteria and prevent future decay and irritation to the tooth.
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One can resurface worn white fillings – white filling material can also bond to existing white fillings. Therefore, when white fillings wear down or become discolored, they often don’t need to be removed, just resurfaced. This can substantially decrease trauma to the teeth.
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White fillings do not have to be removed prior to placing a crown - in contrast, most silver fillings need to be removed and replaced with white fillings prior to placing a crown.
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Whitening
Do you want to Zoom!™ in one hour?
The Zoom! In-Office Whitening System is a revolutionary tooth whitening procedure. It's safe effective and fast, very fast. In just over an hour, your teeth will be dramatically whiter. Zoom! Whitening is ideal for anyone looking for immediate results. The convenience of Zoom! in comparison to days of wearing trays and gradual whitening makes it the perfect choice for the busy individual.
Get ready to Zoom!
The Zoom! Whitening procedure is simple and painless. It begins with a short preparation to isolate your lips and gums. The Zoom! clinician then applies the proprietary Zoom! Whitening Gel, which is activated by a specially designed light. Teeth typically become at least six to ten shades whiter, sometimes more. A five-minute fluoride treatment completes the procedure. You'll be amazed with the results. In most cases, teeth get even whiter the f first few days after the procedure.
How the Zoom! In-Office System Works!
The Zoom! light activated gel was developed after years of research by Discus Dental, the leaders in professional take-home tooth whitening. The gel is a scientifically formulated, pH balanced Hydrogen Peroxide that, when activated by the Zoom! light, gently penetrates the teeth to remove deep stains and discoloration. With proper care and an occasional touch-up at home, your whiter smile will sparkle for years.
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Gum Sculpting
One of the most common complaints we get is of patients that are unhappy with a gummy or uneven smile. Using the VersaWave or DioDent Dental Lasers, Dr. Sonne and Dr. Shapiro can effortlessly and painlessly sculpt the gums, often without the use of any anesthesia! One of the hallmarks of laser dentistry is incredibly fast, painless healing. In fact, usually healing is complete within only 1 week!
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