Cosmetic Dentistry 411

With the United States economy in such dire straits, it’s no surprise that many Americans are doing whatever they can to tighten the belt and save money where ever possible. Unfortunately, this can also mean settling for what would normally be considered a “Second Rate” alternative.

This trend seems to be holding true with the Cosmetic Dentistry field. Many Americans are finding that taking a quick trip down to Central or South America, or even heading up north to Canada, can sometimes save them hundreds or even thousands of dollars. But what price are we paying for cutting corners?

With the travel to a foreign country for the procedure itself, what becomes of after care? When we are trying to save money by visiting someone outside of the US, how do really know their experience and qualifications? With so many scary stories abounding on the internet in regards to people traveling to places like Mexico for things like breast augmentation or gastric bypass and passing away days later from improper medical practices or lack of sterility in the operating room, does a few more hundred dollars really matter in the grand scheme of things?

Personally, I would rather spend the money and save my health and peace of mind. What are your thoughts?

Ever gone to get dental work done and felt frustration about the 4-6 hours of numbness which follows? Personally, I schedule dental appointments for the end of the day for this very reason. Its a bit inconvenient and I end up having to wait for days for an available appointment, but who wants to go back to work talking weird and drooling on themselves? Well it looks like a solution is on the horizon!

A company in San Diego, California has invented a drug called “Oraverse” which works as a vasodilator, allowing blood flow to return to the gums, lips and cheeks and allowing patients to regain feeling in as little as an hour. With so many cosmetic dentistry procedures being done under local anesthesia, a drug like Oraverse could make or break a patients decision on whether or not to have procedures done.

Personally, I love the idea of being able to have feeling back within an hour, but then again, I also like having an excuse to get off of work a little early every once in a while. No one likes the Dentist, but we sure don’t complain about the time off it requires to see them!

Cosmetic Dentistry is constantly expanding and evolving to make dental solutions quicker, easier and more affordable. Such is the new procedure being offered by a Periodontist in New York who has begun using lasers to lighten the color of the gums.

Requiring only local anesthetic, gums cam be lightened in a single visit with minimal to no pain felt afterwards. Being that this is a relatively new cosmetic dentistry procedure, the long lasting results are theorized to be a permanent solution. Many patients are seeking this treatment, as they recognize that the gums serve as a frame for the picture your smile presents.

All my life we have had a running joke in my family about the need for some sort of “bad breath corrective surgery.” You see, I come from a family of bad teeth, worse gums and an unreal knack for building plaque despite obsessive brushing, flossing, mouthwash rinsing, etc. Yes, I said it, my whole family has BAD BREATH! My Dad managed to fix his with an insane 2 day process of having every single one of his teeth pulled out and replaced with full dentures. Obviously he did not do this to correct his breath issue, (as I mentioned we have some really bad teeth) but it did cure it none-the-less. This got me thinking, IS there some sort of corrective surgery for halitosis?

To my utter surprise, the answer is YES! The awesome part is that even though the procedure technically falls into the “Cosmetic Dentistry” category, surgery is not really a part of the process! Using a device aptly named a “halimeter” (which is a fancy way of saying “meter that finds bad breath gas”) your dentist can  locate where your chronic bad breath problem areas are and figure out how to get rid of them.

No longer will I have to invest in pack upon pack of gum and mints! All of my hard work and dedication to keeping a tidy mouth will yield actual results once I visit my dentist to get this icky little problem nixed once and for all!

Stay tuned for future posts where I will talk about my consultation visit, the process and how effective the procedure actually was!

Have your own bad breath story, joke, etc? Post a comment here and let other halitosis suffers like myself know that we’re not alone!

With a steady rise in the number of people visiting a cosmetic dentist, there has been more interest in the press recently regarding the phenomenon of perfectly straight, bright (almost blindingly) white teeth. This article by the BBC took a long standing stereotype, that all British people have bad teeth, and decided to find out if there is a fundamental difference in the importance of having healthy (or at least healthy looking) teeth, between Americans and the British. Turns out there that there seems to be quite a big difference, but the British are becoming more and more teeth conscious.

Before and After Example

With so many options to improve your teeth, anybody with bad teeth (British included) can now have nice straight, white teeth. Whether it be with invisalign, or porcelain veneers, you can get your teeth straightened up, and with various tooth whitening procedures available, you can get them movie star white as well.

In this day and age, there is no need to live with unhealthy looking teeth any longer. So if you are in need of some dental work, check out this cosmetic dentistry information site, to find a specialist near you.

The speed at which technology moves these days is truly amazing. The latest to hit the field of cosmetic dentistry is brought to you by a company called Biolase. This new advance in laser dentistry helps make those trips to the dentist a little less painful and anxiety ridden.

With that annoying drilling sound gone, a trip to the dentist has just become, well a little more bearable. Now if they could only do something about those unnecessarily large needles they use to numb your mouth…

The hip hop culture today has turned many things that were once thought of as ghetto, into mainstream and fashionable. The grill is one of the latest that has made the transition, and seems to be gaining in popularity. Many hip hop artists such as Paul Wall, Nelly, and Lil Jon sport grills, aka grillz. Paul Wall has even taken it a step further and sells grills from his website.

But once you buy your grill, how do you keep it clean? According to this video, with who else but Paul Wall himself, you can just brush your grill with a toothbrush and toothpaste like you would clean your regular teeth. Seems easy enough.

Before getting that blinged out grill of your dreams however, it is recommended to first visit a dentist and have a mold done of your teeth. This will ensure a snug fit, cause after all, you don’t want your new grill to fall out, before you even get to mean mug for the cameras!

Seeing all of the famous actresses with teeth whiter than humanly possible, makes you stop and wonder, what did they have to go through to get their teeth to look like that? It must have been an excruciating, torture filled, nail pulling experience…right? I mean a trip to the dentist, is a trip to the dentist, isn’t it? Well maybe for a very small percentage with extra sensitive teeth, but for most patient’s the answer is no.

If considering a tooth whitening procedure, be sure to let the cosmetic dentist know your concerns, and ask how many shades whiter you can expect your teeth to be, once the procedure is complete. This will give you realistic expectations, so even if you aren’t as attractive as Jessica Simpson or Halle Berry , you might be able to match them in one category: blindingly white teeth!

Finding the right cosmetic dentistry professional can be tough, especially if you live in a more rural area. If you are lucky enough to live in Los Angeles or New York, there is a wide variety of qualified dentists to choose from. However if you are looking for a dentist in Phoenix, your searching might be slightly more time consuming.

However no matter what procedure you are looking to have done, whether it be tooth whitening, a dental implant procedure, or porcelain veneers, there is always someone qualified out there who can help you out. Sometimes it just takes a little longer to find the right dentist for you.