When your teeth show signs of aging, they start to get brittle, discolored — turning any shade from a light yellow to a dark gray — dull, and even chipped or stained. A younger smile can make you look physically younger all over, and getting your teeth treated by a cosmetic dentist can give you more noticeable, lasting, instant, and cheaper results than doing other cosmetic procedures can.
What will your cosmetic dentist do about your aging teeth? This varies depending on how bad your teeth are, how old your teeth are, and what work you need to have done, but you can expect your dentist to do one or more of the following cosmetic dental procedures for your teeth.
Teeth whitening
Perhaps one of the quickest and least invasive ways to make your teeth look younger, healthier, and more vibrant is to have them whitened. Yes, you can buy teeth whitening agents and whiten your teeth at home, but you risk doing lasting damage to your enamel or scratching your teeth, which can make them more susceptible to staining later. It's best to go to a cosmetic dentist to have your teeth whitened since your cosmetic dentist knows what shade will work best for your smile and can make the results natural with as little impact on your teeth as possible.
Veneers
Dental veneers can make chipped, aging teeth brighter, more even, and healthier looking. Veneers are like cosmetic dental caps that can be placed over your main visible teeth to make your smile more impactful in all the right ways. If your teeth are generally healthy and you don't need to have any of them pulled, you can consider veneers instead of other dental measures to cosmetically repair your smile.
Dental implants
Are you missing any teeth? Are your teeth too old and worn to be saved with any cosmetic treatments? Are you considering dentures but you want a more permanent solution to your aging smile? You can get dental implants, which can work well to make your smile younger-looking and more satisfactory for eating and swallowing. Insurance may help cover some of the costs of dental implants, but expect some out-of-pocket costs if this is the solution you are seeking for your oral health.
Your aging smile can be given a new lease on life and more vibrancy with the right cosmetic dental work. A cosmetic dentist can explain your dental solutions to you so you know which ones will work best for your needs and budget.
Our oral surgery and general dental website offers important information on how to prevent dry socket following a tooth extraction. After getting your tooth pulled, a protective blood clot develops over the extraction site. Many of our blog posts explain how this protective clot helps promote healing after an extraction.
You'll learn that if the clot is accidentally dislodged, dry socket may occur, which can raise your risk for infection and heavy bleeding. We'll provide you with important tips on how to prevent this by avoiding smoking and drinking through a straw. You'll also learn that swishing water around your mouth should be avoided for a couple of days following your extraction because doing so creates a suction that may dislodge your clot, leading to dry socket.