Treatments

Your smile is an important feature. It reflects your personality, makes you feel good about yourself, and helps create a favorable impression in social and professional circles. There’s strong evidence to suggest that individuals with an attractive smile are more popular and regarded as smarter.

But wear and tear on our teeth over time often results in a less-than-perfect smile, particularly as we get older. Prosthodontists fix this problem. They’re the recognized specialists in aesthetic tooth repair and replacement and are experts in cosmetic dentistry. Plymouth prosthodontist Metropolitan Prosthodontics offers a range of treatments that improve smiles and boost self-confidence. Most of these benefit oral health too.

Cosmetic Dental Problems and Solutions

Common problems that spoil smiles include.

  • Stained teeth.
  • Damaged teeth.
  • Crooked teeth.
  • Gaps left by missing teeth.

Our prosthodontists resolve these aesthetic concerns with procedures such as:

  • Professional teeth whitening that makes smiles sparkle.
  • Veneers or tooth bonding to treat dental imperfections.
  • Cosmetic dental fillings or crowns to repair cavities.
  • Dental implants to replace missing teeth.

Any one of these treatments can significantly improve your smile. And you can combine a number of them for a total smile makeover – a highly effective, less costly alternative to a facelift.

Teeth Whitening

Teeth often get stained by the dark-colored foods and drinks we consume. They can also become discolored as we get older. Teeth whitening by our Plymouth prosthodontists resolves these problems by removing stains and restoring natural tooth color. Professional teeth whitening is safer, faster, and more effective than DIY teeth bleaching products.

Metropolitan Prosthodontics provides whitening trays so you can get a brighter smile in the comfort of your home, rather than during an in-office procedure. You fill the trays with whitening gel provided by your prosthodontist and wear them about one hour a day for 10 to 14 days. The trays are custom-made from an impression of your teeth to ensure a precise fit, unlike mass-produced whitening kits available in stores. They also contain higher levels of bleaching agent, so results are far better, with teeth several shades whiter.

Dental Veneers

The cosmetic treatment of choice among Hollywood A-listers, porcelain dental veneers improve smiles dramatically by enhancing tooth shape, size, color, and alignment. Veneers are wafer-thin shells that are bonded to the front of teeth. They conceal aesthetic problems such as stained or chipped teeth. They also enhance appearance of worn-down teeth and teeth with uneven edges.

Veneer treatment is sometimes referred to as instant orthodontics. This is because veneers can make teeth look straighter or less crowded or gapped. The translucent properties of porcelain veneers replicate the way dental enamel reflects light, so they look extremely natural. Veneers also resist stains. Thanks to technological advances, only a tiny amount of enamel needs to be removed in order to place veneers. Porcelain veneers are crafted in a dental lab by a ceramist and custom-fitted to match the shape and color of surrounding teeth. They typically last 10 to 15 years.

Dental Bonding

Like porcelain dental veneers, dental bonding improves the appearance of stained, chipped, or gapped teeth. But it’s a faster, simpler process that costs less. As well as cosmetic benefits, tooth bonding restores full functionality to a damaged tooth in a procedure that requires little if any tooth preparation and avoids trimming dental enamel.

Treatment entails applying tooth-colored composite resin to teeth. An ultraviolet light or a laser is used to harden the bonding material, which is then polished to match the rest of the tooth. With good oral hygiene, dental bonding can last several years before needing repair or replacement, although the material isn’t as durable as porcelain veneers. You need to keep in mind that if the bonding material becomes stained, it can’t be whitened like natural teeth.

White Fillings

Dental fillings are the standard treatment for minor to moderate tooth decay or to repair a chipped tooth. They can also be used to modify the size and shape of teeth to improve smiles. Older-style silver, amalgam fillings don’t match natural tooth color. Our white, composite fillings provide a more aesthetic option.

White fillings are made from a ceramic and plastic substance that resembles the shade and sheen of teeth and blends seamlessly for a natural appearance. The resin component of a composite filling provides strong adhesion to the tooth surface, and the procedure ensures the maximum amount of healthy tooth structure is preserved. Fillings typically last five to 10 years on average.

Dental Crowns

Porcelain dental crowns are a versatile tooth repair treatment with cosmetic benefits, and they provide the solution when a tooth has extensive cavities too large for a filling. Crowns restore the shape, size and color of a damaged tooth by covering it with a protective casing. This also strengthens remaining tooth structure once diseased tissue has been removed.

As strong as a natural tooth, a crown improves bite function as well as enhancing appearance of a damaged tooth, and they last up to 15 years. Crowns can be used in conjunction with other procedures such as dental implants and bridges to replace missing teeth. Metropolitan Prosthodontics crowns are made from digital impressions in order to ensure the most precise fit.

Dental Implants

Dental implants are the gold standard of aesthetic tooth replacement, with key advantages over dentures. Implants, typically made of titanium, are surgically inserted into the socket of a missing tooth. Unlike dentures, the implant creates a synthetic tooth root as it fuses with jaw bone. This promotes bone growth essential for preserving facial structure and appearance. Implants look and function like natural teeth and provide a permanent solution to restore smiles and oral health. They’re the next-best thing to real teeth and can be used to replace a single tooth, several teeth, or all the teeth.

Why Choose Metropolitan Prosthodontics to Enhance Your Smile?

Plymouth prosthodontists at Metropolitan Prosthodontics have more training and experience than general dentists in aesthetic dental restorations and cosmetic dentistry. Prosthodontics is one of 12 dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association (ADA). This means prosthodontists are uniquely qualified to provide the highest standard of procedures to resolve the multiple issues that spoil smiles and damage oral health. Metropolitan Prosthodontics combines clinical expertise with an eye for smile design artistry as they craft stunning, healthy smiles.

Contact us to find out more about the treatments we offer to improve smiles.