Cosmetic Dental Care & Your Oral Health

What is cosmetic dental care?

Cosmetic dentistry is concerned with improving the appearance of teeth, bites, and gums. It can range from teeth whitening to improving a patient's gums and teeth's alignment, position, size, colour, and shape.

Most patients undergo cosmetic dental care with the hope that their teeth will look better once treatment is complete. While this is the ultimate goal, cosmetic dental procedures go beyond your looks.

Cosmetic dental procedures not only change the appearance of your smile, but they may also enhance oral function, promote oral hygiene, and improve your oral health.

What else can cosmetic dental procedures do?

1. Enhance Oral Function - While the appearance of our teeth is important, we must remember that the primary function of our teeth, mouth and oral structures are to eat. A mouth full of strong, healthy teeth will make a significant difference in your eating habits. Consider an elderly man who has difficulty chewing. Consider having a toothache and having to starve yourself for a week or two while living solely on smoothies. Eating may be difficult if your teeth are misaligned, as food chunks become lodged between your molars. Many of these issues can be addressed with cosmetic dental treatments to improve your oral function. Gum lifts, dental bridges, gum grafts, Invisalign, dental implants, bite reclamation, and tooth reshaping are some of the procedures available. You will most likely find that eating becomes easier as a result of these procedures.
2. Promoting Oral Hygiene - Many cosmetic procedures require some degree of dental cleaning before the actual treatment. Oral prophylaxis removes tartar and stains accumulated by smoking, eating, and drinking. On top of this, most cosmetic dental procedures focus on restoring broken and cracked teeth. These include inlays, onlays, bonding, crowns, and veneers. Tooth repair will help protect your tooth from further damage and help prevent decay from affecting other teeth as well. 
3. Improves Oral Health - Cosmetic dental procedures may help improve oral health by improving your bite, repairing weak teeth, and improving overall function. This may help with preventing more serious dental problems in the future. Your oral health might also have an indirect connection to your overall health, given that food and nutrition get into your body via eating. Thus, improving oral health can alleviate some common health problems, which in turn may translate into better overall health.

To learn more about the cosmetic dental procedures that may be able to help your smile, contact our dentists in Woodbridge today.