Is it a problem if cosmetic dentistry is used as a shortcut?
Some people might say, well, who cares if it's a shortcut, if I'm getting what I want, then we're all good. But many times they don't understand the long-term implications of what they're asking for. Once you place man-made materials in the mouth, you have inherited a long-term replacement cycle. Nothing lasts forever. Even these beautiful crowns, they do have to be replaced based on wear and tear eventually. And many people think, well, I get my teeth done once and I'm good to go. This is simply not true. Even the highest quality crowns or fillings or veneers will wear out with time. So if we can achieve a beautiful result, get you to a beautiful smile while keeping your teeth natural, so that you're not inheriting this constant replacement cycle, we've achieved the same result that left you in a much better place long-term.
When might cosmetic procedures be considered?
A perfect example of this would be people that come in with teeth that have good shape, might be a little yellowed, but they're really unhappy with how the teeth are lined up. They're misaligned. Frequently the question is, well, can we just do a whole bunch of crowns to make my smile look beautiful right now? Yes, we totally could do that and achieve a beautiful result. We could also do some basic bleaching, do some basic orthodontics to line the teeth up correctly and achieve as beautiful a smile while keeping your teeth natural. So our goal is always to try and achieve that beautiful smile while keeping things natural first. And then if the shape of the tooth structure or there are other issues that do not allow us to achieve that beautiful smile while keeping your teeth natural, then we can shift into the more aggressive surgical alteration of the teeth to help finish achieving that beautiful smile.
How young can you start doing cosmetic dentistry?
A frequently asked question would be, how young can you start doing cosmetic dentistry? And we all want our children's smile to be as beautiful as possible. It has an obvious effect on their self-esteem. But when we do something is as important as what we do. Your jaw continues to grow both in width and elongation until somewhere between the age of 15 to 18. For some people, that can continue all the way out until the age of 25. And why is this important? Well, if a lot of cosmetic is done at a very young age and then the jaw continues to grow, by the time that growth finishes, that result may not be so cosmetic anymore and you may end up having to do it all over again, which obviously we don't want to put somebody through at such a young age. So when it comes to the timing of cosmetics for young kids, we really want to hold off and do as little work as possible until they've gone through that growth cycle. And most people by the time they're about 21 years of age have achieved the majority of their growth. And that's a point at which it's safe to do cosmetic changes that we can confidently say will have a much longer lifespan.
Can cosmetic dentistry fix crooked teeth, overjets, or overbites?
The answer is yes. When it comes to crooked teeth, as we've discussed, you can use crowns to change that and get nicely aligned smile, but you can also use orthodontics to line your teeth up to look beautiful and have kept them natural at the same time. So our first choice is always to do the ortho and try and save the teeth naturally. But if that is not possible, can we fix crooked teeth with crowns? Yes, we can to some degree. When it comes to overbite and overjet, overbite, if we look sideways here, these are your upper teeth, these are your lower teeth. Our upper teeth are always supposed to overlap just a little bit. When we have overbite, it's that your teeth overlap a ton in this direction. When we have overjet, it's that they're pushed either out or further forward like this, usually a combination of both. So those problems, if they are minor, can be improved with certain types of cosmetic dentistry. If they are moderate to major, it is a far more complex problem requiring a lot more work than just crowns or veneers or something along those lines. So to correctly answer that question, you have to be evaluated by a dentist so that they can assess to what degree do these problems exist, what are your best options, and then discuss those with you.
Is there a point past which someone is too old to receive cosmetic dentistry?
Whether it's cosmetic dentistry or restorative dentistry, the question that I am always asking my patients, especially as they reach higher levels of maturity in life, is about their resources. There are three primary resources that most of us spend to have health care done. There's the financial resources, there are the physical or health resources, and there's the emotional energy it takes to walk through. If you're completely comfortable and feel safe, there's still an emotional toll we pay. So whenever we're considering, is this appropriate for you based on your age, the question is always, do you have all three of those resources that you are willing to spend on this process? And if the answer is yes, and your health allows, then excellent. We definitely can help you achieve beauty in your smile.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of cosmetic dentistry?
The advantage is that in a relatively short period of time, we can make a dramatic change to people's smile, achieve visual beauty that they may never have thought they could achieve for themselves. The disadvantage is that it is expensive, and typically insurance does not help cover cosmetic changes. And secondly, you are permanently entering into a replacement cycle process, where these things will occasionally have to be replaced.
What should a patient consider when choosing a cosmetic dentist?
There are three things that I would use as indicators that this is a team I'd like to work with. One, did they discuss, were they proactive about discussing the less invasive options that you might be able to use to achieve a beautiful smile? This would tell me that that dentist is not overly aggressive in what they want to do. Secondly, did they offer to have a wax-up model completed by their laboratory to show exactly what that lab could achieve for you? This would tell me that that dentist is invested in making sure you really like the results you're going to get. And then thirdly, has that dentist discussed with you preventive measures to protect your smile after your cosmetic work is done? Typically, I would be speaking of a night guard to help protect those teeth. This tells me they are invested and care about your long-term success with the cosmetic work they've done. I would also consider strongly the team's willingness to communicate with you and to help you answer all the questions you might have. This communication is important before, during, and after the cosmetic procedure. So high levels of communication are very important.
Do insurance companies typically help cover cosmetic dentistry?
Insurance companies are in the insurance game because they want to keep as much of that money as they possibly can. They typically achieve this by doing everything they can to deny care to the very people that they're supposed to cover. Cosmetic dentistry is rarely, if ever, covered by insurance unless you can show that there has been significant loss of function or form due to damage. So unfortunately, no, they do not help generally with cosmetic dentistry. This is one of the factors you need to consider when you're deciding whether to go with more surgical cosmetic changes to your teeth versus doing what you can naturally to improve your smile and keep the teeth natural, which is typically a much less expensive route.