Cosmetic dentistry services at Compassionate Dental Care can give patients flawless smiles, but more importantly, cosmetic services give patients improved self-confidence. Some recent studies have shown that patients who smile more are happier and may even live longer. An employment poll revealed that those with damaged or missing teeth were less likely to be hired for a job or receive raises and promotions within their current positions. If you’re interested in improving your smile, our Lake in the Hills dentist and team can help. Contact us to find out more or schedule a cosmetic consultation today.
PORCELAIN VENEERS
Porcelain veneers conceal a number of minor chips, cracks, stains, and other cosmetic flaws quickly and comfortably over the course of two office visits. Veneers are thin sheaths of dental grade porcelain that fit over the front facing surfaces of teeth instantly transforming damaged teeth into flawless smiles. During the initial visit, we remove a small amount of enamel from the surface of teeth in order to allow the veneer to blend seamlessly into the natural smile line. Then, we capture impressions that are used by a dental lab to craft a custom veneer. To protect teeth and allow patients to get used to the look and feel of porcelain veneers, we place a temporary restoration. Once the final veneer arrives at our office, patients return to exchange the temporary for their custom veneer.
SIX-MONTH SMILES
Many patients visit our office who are unhappy with crooked or misaligned teeth, but they think skipping orthodontic treatment as an adolescent means they missed their opportunity for a straighter smile. Our team offers a cosmetic alternative to traditional orthodontic treatment – Six-Month Smiles. This is an ideal option for adult patients who have minor concerns with alignment and those who would like to readjust past orthodontic work that has shifted. Six-Month Smiles is able to work so quickly because it focuses on just those teeth that are visible within patients’ smiles. By shifting just these most visible teeth, Six-Month Smiles improves patients’ confidence without asking them to commit to years of orthodontic care.
ZOOM® TEETH WHITENING
It’s probably no surprise that teeth whitening is one of the most popular treatments we offer. A walk down the oral hygiene aisle of your local pharmacy will reveal row after row of whitening products from mouthwashes to professional-looking kits with special lights. Despite the transformative results these products promise, most are unable to deliver more than a slight improvement. Our team uses the Zoom! whitening system to improve patients’ smiles. Zoom! offers predictable results brightening smiles up to ten shades in a single visit. The dentist carefully applies a thin coat of Zoom! whitening gel to teeth and applies the patented Zoom! activation light that speeds up the whitening process. We typically allow the whitener to work for fifteen minutes at a time, remove the whitening gel, test the color, and reapply as necessary to achieve the desired results.
AT-HOME TEETH WHITENING
Store bought whitening strips and gels make big promises, but for the most part, they are unable to deliver on these promises for two reasons. First, the dose of active whitening agent is kept extremely low for patient safety, and second, these products are unable to seal out saliva. Once the saliva accesses the whitening agent, it is neutralized quickly meaning store bought whitening products are only able to work for a few minutes at a time. Our custom take-home whitening kits also take advantage of the predictable, quality Zoom! line of products. We custom design whitening application trays that keep this professional-grade whitening product on teeth and keep saliva out allowing the superior whitening agent to work for hours at a time.
LUMINEERS®
Patients interested in an even less invasive alternative to porcelain veneers may want to consider Lumineers®. These ultra-thin sheaths of porcelain fit over the fronts of teeth with no preparation. That means, in most cases, patients are able to reverse their Lumineers® procedure if they change their minds. The placement procedure is simple. We take images and impressions of the teeth to be treated, and send them to the lab where Lumineers® are crafted, and patients return to our office when the restoration arrives for placement.
COSMETIC GUM RECONTOURING
For patients who think their teeth look “gummy” or uneven, the problem is often not the teeth but their gums. Cosmetic gum recontouring allows our team to reduce the amount of gum tissue or even out the soft tissue so teeth and gums are in ideal proportion giving patients the flawless smiles they dream of. The procedure itself is relatively straightforward. A small amount of tissue is removed, sutures are placed when necessary, and patients use a prescription mouth rinse to prevent infection and promote faster healing.
