A cosmetic dentist is a dental specialist who focuses on the aesthetic aspect of dentistry. This means that the professional aims to improve and beautify the oral cavity and the smile of his or her patients. There are many different procedures and solutions that fall under this kind of practice. Among these is the use and application of veneers. They are the solutions to a number of dental problems that plague many people. These issues include, but are not limited to, discoloration, chips, breaks and crooked teeth.
Veneers
These dental applications are actually facades which are applied on the teeth of the patient to improve their appearance and function. A cosmetic dentist will advise his patient regarding their fragility because they tend to come off or break when they encounter a hard object. There are two materials which are commonly used for these; they are porcelain and composite compound. The porcelain is basically more fragile than the composite compound.
Veneers made from the porcelain are also more tooth-like in appearance. This is based on the opacity and the color of the material and the basis of the general preference of many people for this type. The downside to this material is the cost. Since it is generally more expensive even without being used as a dental application, it follows that when it is formed as a cap for the tooth, it is be really expensive. The composite compound is hardier compared to it but also more plastic-like in appearance when viewed up close. The cosmetic dentist will recommend this to patients who have a preference for the less expensive material and for those who like to eat tough foods.
Advice
The cosmetic dentist needs to educate his patient regarding the use and application of veneers before they can be applied on the teeth. It is important that the patient knows that each tooth that will use the veneers will need to be reshaped in such a way that will render them unusable without the applications. The reason why they are reshaped is to accommodate the application of the caps on the tooth. If the caps are placed without reshaping, they cannot be accommodated due to the tightness between each tooth.
There is usually a very slim gap between each tooth, even the floss sometimes has a difficult time passing through these gaps. Porcelain cannot be made as thin as floss because this will impact the fragility of the material and make it more prone to cracking. On the other hand, the composite compound may be more resilient than the porcelain but it is also requires more work to polish and shape even after it has been applied on the tooth. Dentists will also advise their patient to take things easy when it comes to tough food especially if these are applied on the front teeth.
