Cosmetic Dentistry: Preserving That Lovely Smile
Cosmetic dentistry has become quite popular over the past years. Even though most dental insurance companies still do not cover for this kind of treatment, people do not really mind taking money from their own pockets to pay for the treatment. The cost of cosmetic dentistry treatment is actually just a small price that we have to pay to preserve our lovely smile so if you have been worried about the discolorations in your teeth or that unhealthy looking gums, a few hundred dollars on cosmetic dentistry will not really hurt you that much.
Tooth Bleaching
Tooth bleaching is probably the most common type of cosmetic dentistry. This process can either be done in-office or by a dentist or it can be done at home by the person who wants to whiten his or her teeth by using those over the counter tooth bleaching agents. However, although self treatment does work sometimes, most professionals discourage such practice because self treatment can cause some side effects like chemical burns, sensitive teeth and the likes. Chemical burns can be quite nasty and uncomfortable so if you do not like to suffer from that ugly burning sensation in your gums and tongue, forget about self treatment. Aside from the risk chemical burns, self treatment may not really yield the needed results. Uneven coloration of the teeth often happen when the tooth whitening agent is not spread evenly on the affected areas of the teeth. If you do not want to end up with badly treated teeth, you need to think twice about doing some home treatment on your teeth.
On the other hand, while self treatment may sometimes cause more damage than good, in office procedures such as cosmetic dentistry definitely give better results. Why? First, the person who performs the cosmetic dentistry treatment at the dental clinic knows all about teeth thus he or she knows what type of tooth bleaching agents are best for the patient. Second, a dentist knows how to protect your gums from chemical burns and other side effects. In most cases, dentist paint light-cured protective layer on your gums and the tips of your gums between your teeth to protect them from chemical burns. The light-cured protective layer is really very effective so you can go home without having that uncomfortable burning sensation in your mouth after the procedure. However, the only catch here is that in office cosmetic dentistry procedures can cost you a lot of money compared to those over the counter tooth bleaching agents that you can use at home.
