Chuck Reinertsen

Q&A

That depends on several things. How well do you take care of your teeth? Do you brush, floss, & water irrigate every day? Are you on medications or a smoker? Are you a diabetic? Do you have a lot of dentistry to maintain? What condition is the existing dentistry? And many more questions. As you can see, there isn’t just one answer. It has to be customized to the individual. For most people, it’s at least every six months, but for many, it’s every 3 months. I do have a few patients who do very well at once a year, but their homecare is fabulous.

Teeth discoloration is a normal part of aging. As people age, enamel wears down, and teeth take on a darker appearance. The dentin under your enamel is darker, so as the enamel wears, the darker dentin shows through. Young people with darker teeth are usually smokers or heavy coffee or tea drinkers. Certain medications can also make your teeth turn dark. Genetics, diet, and homecare play a role, too. No matter what the cause, there are now options for whitening your teeth to look young and beautiful again.

A great smile should improve your confidence and self-image which can have a positive impact on the social and professional aspects of your life. Other people will respond to you more positively based on their own beliefs of what a great smile tells them about you: more intelligent, more trustworthy, and generally more “clean.” Cosmetic dentistry is not just about pretty smiles though. New techniques and materials are available for back teeth as well as the ones you see when you smile. Now your mouth can look great, get healthy and function better at the same time.

Cosmetic Dentists have shown a special interest in new technologies and procedures, specifically to help them achieve better results for you. The training of all general dentists covers basic general dentistry. To be proficient in cosmetic dentistry, extra education and training is absolutely necessary.

Start by deciding what you do and don’t like about your smile. Then make an appointment for a consultation with a Cosmetic Dentist. Discover your options, then take action. A wide variety of choices is available to improve how your teeth work and the way your smile looks. There are many services available, and most people will need a combination of services or “blended services,” which means different procedures on different teeth, working together to give you a terrific smile. For many people, the most difficult step is the first step. Go ahead and make your appointment. Delay only will lead to regret of your inaction and lost time with your beautiful smile.

Like most services, cost will vary based on the time required and the difficulty of the procedures. Generally, improving a smile will require a combination of treatment options such as bleaching, reshaping teeth and/or gums, and using bonded materials, (usually porcelain) to improve the appearance of your smile. It’s like buying a used car…What are you looking for? A great way to start is having a consultation with a cosmetic dentist to determine the ways that you can reach your goals. Improving your smile is an investment in you. It is an investment that will open many doors and present many opportunities because of the way you see yourself and the way others respond to you.

That will vary for each person, depending on his or her needs. Are your teeth fairly straight? Do you have gum disease? What changes do you want? Sometimes you can dramatically improve your oral health and appearance in just a couple of visits. Other times, it will take longer. Regardless of how long it takes, it will be life changing and well worth the wait. Most Cosmetic Dentists will work to make your treatment as convenient as possible, perhaps choosing slightly longer visits instead of more trips to the office. Talk to your cosmetic dentist about your goals and concerns so the best plan can be developed for your individual situation. If you start today, a new smile can be yours sooner than you think. Every day you delay is a day you lose forever.

It’s comforting to know the outcome before beginning your cosmetic journey. A picture, or even better yet, a three-dimensional model of what the final smile will look like is absolutely necessary when you’re providing cosmetic dentistry.

Some Cosmetic Dentists use Cosmetic Imaging. We do. A photograph is taken of your smile, downloaded in the computer, then digitally modified to look the way you want. This will give you a good idea of what to expect. Some cosmetic dentists take it one step further and make actual models of your teeth, then do a “wax up” of what the final restorations can look like. We do this, also. The advantage is that you can inspect the models in your hands, compare the old teeth model to the “wax up” model, note changes you may want to do, then have the wax up modified until you get the look you’re after.

There are some cosmetic dentists, like us, who will take it even one step further. During the first appointment of preparing your teeth for your new smile, temporaries are placed, based on your “wax up.” These white resin restorations are temporarily bonded onto your teeth and will look like your final smile, with one big difference. These temporaries can be modified. When you look at photographs or even three dimensional models of your teeth, you can’t tell exactly what they will look like in your mouth. You have gums, lips, a tongue, and cheeks. We don’t have those on a plaster model, and a photograph shows a “still” image. After you have worn your temporaries for a couple of days, you may want to change the length or the shape of some of the teeth. The true test is how it looks and feels in real life. After the final modifications are made in the temporaries, new photographs are made, as well as new models. These are communication tools for the laboratory. The laboratory doesn’t have to “guess” how long or wide to make your teeth. This is the best method to insure the results you want. Now you know what your new smile will look like.

The final appearance is completely up to you, the patient. Some people want the teeth to look very natural, with a few imperfections. Others want them to be perfectly straight and have a natural white color. Still others want teeth that will be perfectly straight and snow white. All of these are possible, but it is up to you to tell your cosmetic dentist how you want your new smile to look. If you want people to appreciate the way you look overall, make your teeth look naturally white. If you want them to comment on how white your teeth are, make them white white. There’s no wrong choice. They’re both “right,” depending on what you want. Personally, I live by the phrase, “Nobody sees great dentistry. Everybody sees bad dentistry. Great dentistry looks terrific and natural, like it belongs there.”

With good home care and regular visits to your dentist, modern materials can last for many years and even decades. Like most things, excellent maintenance will extend the life of your dental restorations. The problem with telling someone they have a “permanent” restoration is that many people will relax their maintenance since it’s “permanent.” Dentists even tell people they have “permanent teeth” or “permanent fillings.” If our teeth were “permanent” then dentures or false teeth wouldn’t be necessary! This just isn’t true. Even Mt. St. Helens wasn’t “permanent.” It lasted a long time, but not forever. With a little effort you have decades of worry free enjoyment.

Most dental insurances have very low total benefits per year which may help offset the cost of regular checkups, but probably won’t pay much, if anything, toward cosmetic services. Many cosmetic dentists, like us, will work to help maximize your benefits and may have suggestions for alternative methods of financing so you can obtain the treatment of your choice. It’s up to you, not the insurance company, to decide what kind of smile you want. The investment into a great smile, regardless of insurance, will pay for itself many times over by way of new opportunities, relationships, and your own improved self-confidence.

Porcelain restorations, when properly bonded, are as strong as your natural teeth. Having said that, you must remember that you can break your natural teeth if you abuse them. Chewing on ice cubes or cracking nuts are still things to avoid. With normal use, breakage should not be an issue. Porcelain restorations have lasted 30-40 years without breakage.

Anytime we alter shapes in your mouth, things will feel different. Our tongues, lips, and cheeks can pick up the slightest change. Even though things will feel different, within 2-3 weeks your teeth will feel normal. Temporary crowns or veneers are good “training wheels” to get an idea of what the final restorations will feel like. The final restorations will usually be thinner, smoother and easier to get used to than the temporaries, but at least you’ll have an idea of the new feeling and how you will adapt.

A Lumineer is a veneer made from special porcelain patented to the DenMat Corporation. These are beautiful veneers and are very strong. Other companies also make veneers, using a variety of porcelains that are also excellent. The material used for your specific situation should be based on your particular needs. There is not just one “right” material for every situation. Dr. L.D. Pankey, a pioneer of dental excellence, said, “If the only tool you have in your toolbox is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.” A Cosmetic dentist needs many, many different “tools in his/her toolbox” to help you with your really great smile, not just one.

Anywhere from nothing to moderate. It all depends on how straight or crooked your teeth are to start, how quickly you want your new smile, and what your cosmetic goals are. Straight teeth generally require much less tooth structure removal. In order to achieve the esthetic results you’re after, it may be necessary to remove more from some teeth than from others. Once the teeth have bonded porcelain, they are sealed and as strong as your natural teeth.

Yes. The porcelain doesn’t cover your entire tooth. At some point, there is a junction of your natural tooth with the porcelain. At that junction, you have the same susceptibility to decay on your natural tooth as you did before you had the porcelain placed. That is why it is extremely important to maintain excellent homecare with brushing, flossing, and water irrigation. Should you develop decay on your natural tooth, the sooner you catch it, the better. Many times the decay can be repaired without having to replace your porcelain.