Drs. Joe Willardsen & Clark E. Cressman

It depends on if they are stained. Bleaching will do a great job, but a lot of people that have done bleaching with no result, can use a no-prep veneer, where we don’t need to shave down teeth.

I think white strips work pretty well.  Whitening toothpastes removes surface stain, but don’t pull stain out of the tooth like a bleach would. I personally don’t think whitening toothpastes penetrate deep enough like peroxide does.

My vision of a smile makeover is taking anyone that is unhappy with their smile, and correcting it through orthodontics (straightening the teeth), porcelain veneers and/or bonding. In order to be successful, their smile needs to be functional as well. This means if the teeth are not in the right position, or the proportions are not right, than it cannot be a successful smile makeover.

Usually there are a lot of signs, such as the teeth not being in alignment, if there is spacing between the teeth or if they are crowded, if the teeth are chipped or worn down, if there is a lot of pain in the TMJ joint, or if they have headaches or neck pain.  When your teeth are apart, the lower jaw is in a relaxed position; but as your teeth come together, it puts force on the muscles, teeth and joints. If all is lined up, than that force is ok and all is in balance; but, if the teeth are not in line, you might hit on one side more than the other or chew on one side, or there could be spacing between teeth or flaring in the front teeth. We can use a computer to help u s find the exact lower jaw rest position; and we move the teeth based on that rest position.  It’s called “jaw tracking;” we follow the path of closure until the teeth touch. We want all the teeth to come together at the same time. 

A lot of times they are interchanged. Veneers are porcelain coverings over the tooth that will close spaces, and fix cracked, worn-down, or chipped teeth. Bonding is done by hand in one appointment by the dentist. Veneers are done in a lab by a lab technician. It typically takes two appointments. In the past, bonding would change color and stain, but the material they use now is getting better.

The gold standard would be with implants, but there are other viable options such as bridges, where you would cap or veneer the two adjacent teeth and put a prosthetic tooth in the middle to fill the space.  Or we can use some sort of removable partial or denture as a temporary measure. Also, you can use a snap-on-smile to replace teeth temporarily.

There are two ways. I would use a biominetic restoration with advanced materials that flex and give and are placed using a very special technique; or, if it was completely necessary, I would put a crown on the tooth. The idea behind biominetic dentistry is that if you have a tooth with extensive decay, you would want to rebuild the tooth just like it was originally. A natural tooth will flex and give. If you re-build it with a composite or restoration, you want the middle portion of the tooth to be softer than the outside portion, just like a real tooth. We remove all the decay, clean it out and then we use a carbon mesh liner in the tooth and layer the composite in a certain way.  When the tooth is done, it has the same strength as the original one.  With a traditional inlay, or a metal filling, it is very rigid, so as the tooth flexes or gives, it creates a space between the tooth and the filling material. Then the tooth cracks from force and torque.  If it has elasticity in the restoration, it will last a long time. 

Yes. I’m not really familiar with it; but I’ve seen it done a few different ways.  One technique is to bleach the gums. Another technique is to scrape the top layer of tissue off with an abrasive material and it grows back pink. 

It’s a plastic, fabricated smile that snaps over the existing teeth that can visually correct crowding, spaces, misshapen and worn-down teeth. It’s removable, and is usually used for special occasions or if someone has a missing tooth and they are waiting to replace them. It’s not very functional. It doesn’t chew well, and not something you would want long-term.

Lasers are used more and more. Most dentists own a soft-tissue laser for shaping gum tissue, removing or helping heal cold sores or canker sores. A hard-tissue laser (which is more expensive) can cut teeth or hard tissue like bone, and can help fix a gummy smile. Certain lasers can also remove veneers safely. 

Yes.  It’s so subjective. When I meet with a patient, they have to break down what they don’t like:  Is it the front teeth, because chipped or is there space? Is it the whole smile or just a few teeth?  We can do veneers, bleaching, bonding, and simple contouring and shaping and if they don’t want traditional braces, or use Invisilign or a D & A (day-night appliance) appliance. With D &A there is a lot of tooth movement in 16 hours. It also can move bone. It is good for those with a narrow smile who want a wider one. It has a screw in it that you crank to widen the arch. Invisalign has to be used 21 hours-a-day, and it just torques the teeth. 

Anyone that has mild to moderate crowding. It’s also good for people who have spaces, but not good for rotating or pulling teeth down. 

Typically on average, it takes anywhere from six months to two years.