Cosmetic Dentistry
Our smile makes up one of the two most dynamic parts of our face responsible for our verbal and non-verbal communication. Subconsciously, others evaluate health, emotion and age from our smile and, as such, it acts as our personal, unique business card.
Cosmetic dentistry is a genre of dentistry for an individual who aspires for more than just a functional treatment to a dental problem – it’s designed for someone who wants a seamless natural look which artfully disguises or solves their dental problem.
Using the most up to date materials, our two options are either to sympathetically restore your smile or to rejuvenate your smile using the principles of Phi Dentistry.
Natural Smile
Sympathetic Natural-Looking Restoration
This option uses the look of the features of the mouth to design a well-blended treatment option. It often looks at one (but not always) feature the patient is not happy with, and looks for a more suitable eye-pleasing solution which will blend in with the rest of your smile.
Common cosmetic problems and their solutions
Invisalign
Most would agree that straight teeth look better but most importantly can be cleaned better. Instanding teeth can become discoloured with stains and food packing may also result. Using a simple technique, Invisalign has become one of the most popular choices.
Composite Bonding, Crowns and Veneers
Chipped or uneven teeth can often make our smile look more aged and tired looking. The methods available to restore that tooth to what it should look like are Composite Bonding, Crowns and Veneers.
Hygienist
Everyday food and drink staining can make teeth look artificially dark and can age a smile. Our hygienist can remove such stains and show you how to slow this process down.
Tooth Whitening
Teeth darken with stain containing foods and drink and time. The most cosmetic procedure undertaken is tooth whitening.
Implants, Dentures and Bridgework
There are three options to correcting missing teeth.
- Implants are a speciality and we are equipped with referral pathways to help guide you through this process.
- Dentures have seen a resurgence with the arrival of new high impact acrylics and vinyls. They can be made to look very realistic by incorporating fillings, staining, slightly misaligned teeth and even gum colour variations to mimic the rest of your smile.
- Bridgework is still a popular choice to replace a tooth. The realism of vitreous porcelains keep getting better and better. Colour variation and even staining can be incorporated into the design.
Replacement with composite (white) fillings, Inlays, Onlays and Crowns
Amalgam fillings were historically the go to of fillings in the back teeth. These fillings have a silver component which oxidises and blackens in time. Left for many years, this seeps into the surrounding tooth tissue and blackens the tooth further. Removal of the black filling and replacing with either a composite, inlay or onlay which can all be colour matched to the remaining tooth tissue is a possibility. However, once the remaining tooth has darkened often a full coverage crown is the best aesthetic option.
Elite Denture Design, Crowns and Bridges
The technology in all dental materials has continued to improve. They are stronger, wear more closely to natural surrounding teeth and look so much better than their forefathers. This has opened new possibilities in producing more natural smiles. So whether it is a denture, crown or bridge you are considering, the appearance of the new generation materials are bound to make you smile.
φ
Phi Dentistry
The Maths Behind the Smile
Smile rejuvination using Phi Dentistry
A youthful smile is associated with good health both in the mouth and more generally. We can restore a tooth to what it looked like before, but this accepts that over time teeth become worn, darker and more crooked.
If we yearn for a more youthful look, we can generally shave off 15 years without the results looking incongruous to the rest of the face. Beyond this, the effects will start to look ‘too good’ and false-looking. At Ilfracombe Dental Practice, we achieve this essential balance by observing the principles of Phi Dentistry.
This concept is the maths that underlies the values we all recognise subconsciously when evaluating beauty. In cosmetic dentistry, we aim to artfully express these values in terms of straightness, whiteness, and the proportion of teeth in your smile and the structures that surround/frame your smile (lip volume and shape).
The Treatment Process
The smile assessment aims to identify the concerns you have with your smile and discuss the outcome that you are trying to achieve. A suitability check concerning hygiene, diet and oral health evaluation will be made. The results of this will determine whether treatment is possible and suitable to your needs.
Moulds and photographs are taken of your mouth. There is a charge for this process These are analysed and mock ups of the desired outcome are made using the Devine ratio. Don’t be worried by these ratios, we subconsciously notice these differences but just don’t know why we know that we have noticed something about our smile doesn’t look quite right. The ratio helps us quantify what we see. These will be presented to you so that you have a good idea of your treatment outcome and see if this is what you would like to do.
Consent can be given at this appointment but we would prefer that you have time to consider the options given to you. It will give you time to cool off and ask close friends and family members what they think. There may be a number of possible treatment options available , each one will be presented with the pros and cons and a quotation for your bespoke treatment. Once the appropriate consent forms are signed ,your treatment sessions will be booked in by mutual arrangement.
The means of achieving the golden ratio in your smile are made through one or a combination of the following processes.
- Invisalign
- Tooth Whitening
- Lip Contouring / Shaping and enhancement
- Veneers
- Crowns
- Bridges
- Dentures
- Composite Bonding
- Tooth Shaping
The appropriate consent forms are signed and treatment is booked in by mutual arrangement.
Start enjoying your smile.