If you are unhappy with one or more gaps in your smile, you might have started researching how to fix them. There are many options for closing them and achieving the healthy, gap-free smile you desire. So many options, in fact,that choosing the right one can get confusing.
Here’s a complete guide to the treatment options that might be right for you, so you can find the best solution to your gapped smile.
Porcelain Veneers
Who’s It For: People seeking the most attractive results.
Porcelain veneers are the most attractive solution to gaps in your smile. With veneers, you can not only close smile gaps, but reshape your teeth and brighten them as well. You have complete control over the appearance of your smile. Veneers are thin facades of advanced ceramic that fit over your teeth, giving them a completely new surface.
In the procedure, your cosmetic dentist will work with you to design the beautiful smile of your dreams. Then they will prepare your teeth, removing a small amount of tooth enamel to make room for the veneers. Your cosmetic dentist will take an impression of your prepared teeth and send it, along with the plan for your new smile, to a dental lab. You will wear temporary veneers while the lab makes your veneers. When we get your veneers, after a few days or up to two weeks, we will schedule your appointment to get your final veneers placed.
Veneers can close as many gaps in your teeth as you want. They can approximate the work of orthodontics, but so quickly that we often call them instant orthodontics.
Once your cosmetic dentist replaces your veneers, you will enjoy their beauty and durability. Veneers resist stains and are strong. When properly cared for, they can last up to 20 years.
The only drawback of veneers is that they are relatively expensive.
Dental Implants
Who’s It For: People Who Lost a Tooth
If your tooth gap is due to a lost tooth, the best approach to replace it is a dental implant. A dental implant is an artificial tooth root that bonds with your jaw.
Your implant dentist will place the implant in your jaw. Thanks to advanced technology that gives us 3D x-rays of your bone structure, this is a quick process that does not cause much discomfort. If the implant is secure, the implant dentist will place a crown or bridge on top of the implant that day. You can have an immediate tooth replacement. In some cases, you might have to wait to put the new crown on the implant, but you’ll get a temporary solution that closes the gap in the meantime.
Once you have your implant, it can last for the rest of your life, if you care for it properly like a natural tooth. The crown or bridge might last only 10-20 years, but the implant can be forever.
Dental Bonding
Who It’s For: Try-before-you-buy types and single smile gaps.
Dental bonding is the least expensive approach to closing gaps in your smile. It uses a special composite that’s a mixture of plastic and ceramic to reshape your teeth.
Your cosmetic dentist— Dr. Kurt Doolin, Dr. Jeffrey S. Haddad, or Dr. Nina Daws–will shape this initially soft putty around your teeth. A curing light hardens the composite, and we polish it to look like natural tooth enamel. The result is reshaped teeth that can close the gap between them.
Dental bonding is so fast, it can be completed in just a single visit. You can close a gap in your smile in about an hour or so. Dental bonding is best when you have just a single gap you want to close in your smile because reshaping each tooth individually becomes cumbersome as you try to do more. Dental bonding also has the problem that it’s not very long-lasting. You might enjoy the results for a few years, but the bonding is susceptible to wear and staining. The more bonding you have, the more likely you are to experience problems.
However, dental bonding is a great way for you to try cosmetic dentistry if you’re not sure it’s right for you. It’s inexpensive, doesn’t modify your natural teeth, and is fully reversible. If you try it and don’t like it, you can undo it and go back to your old smile. If you try it and like it, you can upgrade to more attractive and durable veneers when your bonding fails.
Orthodontics
Who’s It For: Patient people who are happy with their teeth.
Orthodontics is the process of moving your teeth so that they are straight and even with no gaps between them.
With orthodontics, a dentist will encourage your teeth to move into new positions where they close all the gaps between them. This process requires your body to reshape the bone around your teeth, which is a slow, often painful process. In the past, tooth movement was encouraged with brackets and wires. More modern options use different approaches to encourage tooth movement, but the body still needs to reshape the bone. Orthodontics typically takes six months to several years to complete.
One benefit of orthodontics is that it’s just using your natural teeth. There are no restorations. This can be a benefit if you like your current teeth. However, many people find that once their teeth are straightened they notice other problems that make them unhappy with their new smile. Poorly shaped or discolored teeth often encourage people to get additional cosmetic treatments after orthodontics.
Another benefit of orthodontics is that the results can be permanent as long as you wear your retainers.
Close Your Tooth Gap in Rochester, MI
If you are unhappy with gaps in your smile, there’s no time like the present to correct them and get the confidence that comes with having a smile you love. Please call (248) 656-2020 or email Rochester Advanced Dentistry today to schedule an appointment.
