Okemos, Lansing, East Lansing MI
Put simply, cosmetic dentistry gives patients their confidence back, and not much is more important to a person than that. Confidence matters in job interviews, in a work environment and in our personal lives.
A smile is usually the first thing people notice about us. It is a universal sign of happiness. But all too often when teeth are damaged, discolored or misaligned, people are self-conscious about it and hide their smiles in person or in photos. This is not the quality of life that someone deserves. And that’s why cosmetic dentistry is so important: Using one or more cosmetic dental procedures can completely transform a smile … and even a life!
Let’s take a look at some of the most commonly requested cosmetic procedures that have helped our Okemos cosmetic dental team restore patients’ smiles and self-confidence:
Teeth whitening
Professional teeth whitening is quick, easy and effective. It’s also the most popular cosmetic procedure we’re asked to perform. Years of stains from foods and beverages like tomato sauce, wine and coffee are wiped away, usually in under two hours. Stained or dingy teeth add age to a person’s smile and face. Returning those pearly whites to, well, pearly white results in a major self-confidence boost. Sometimes a whiter smile is all it takes to have someone smiling freely and feeling their best selves again.
Alignment
People with teeth that are crooked or crowded are often smiling with closed lips or putting their hands over their mouths to hide their teeth when smiling or laughing. Hardly anyone is born with a perfect smile, so crooked, misaligned or crowded teeth are nothing to be ashamed of. However, our cosmetic dentists in Lansing have all the tools and skills needed to realign problem teeth that cause you to feel self-conscious. Traditional metal braces or our clear aligner therapy, Invisalign, can straighten teeth usually in under two years, creating a stunning smile that you never thought was possible.
Dental veneers and crowns
Dental veneers are wafer-thin porcelain “shells” that our E. Lansing cosmetic dentists color-match to surrounding teeth. The shells adhere to an affected tooth’s surface — usually the front teeth — covering cracks, chips or other blemishes. Dental crowns also cover cracks. Unlike veneers, crowns cover the entire tooth instead of just the surface. They’re usually used on the larger back teeth. Crowns can also cover a tooth that has decayed to the point that the infection is dangerously close to the tooth’s pulp and sensitive nerves. Crowns can be metal or porcelain-ceramic.
Dental implants
Dental implants are a restoration technique for missing teeth, and this one groundbreaking cosmetic dental procedure is changing lives! In this procedure, our cosmetic dental team at Tenaglia Smiles will ready your jaw and gums for implants to replace missing teeth. Once the jaw is ready, our dentists will place a hole or multiple holes in the gum and insert titanium posts into the holes. Through a process called osseointegration, the jaw fuses around the post, making it a permanent tooth “root.” An abutment serves as a connector from the “root” to a crown that is the visible part of the implant. The crown is fabricated to match other natural teeth in the mouth. Implants are designed to look, feel and function like natural teeth. Many people cannot tell the difference between a mouth full of natural teeth and one full of implants.
Cosmetic Dentist in East Lansing and Okemos
Cosmetic dentistry improves lives by restoring self-confidence and ridding people of the constant embarrassment they feel from a less-than-perfect smile. That is the reason cosmetic dentistry is so important to our dental practice at Tenaglia Smiles. If you’re ready to address the issues you have with your smile, give us a call at (517) 940-8684 or reach us online today. We’d love to talk with you about your options!