Patient Stories

Cosmetic Dentistry

Angelita - Composite Bonding Sometimes a space exists between central incisor merely because the sides of the teeth are straight, instead of curved. Equal portions of composite resin was added to each tooth, to effectively close the space. This was done with no numbing.
Bengie - Porcelain Crown Sometimes patient make decisions they later regret. When young, Bengie paid someone to cut down a healthy tooth and place this prefabricated gold crown. Bengie's gold crown was cut off and replaced with an all-porcelain crown. Care was taken to match the shade of adjacent teeth.
Dave - Crown & Veneer The crowned incisor on the left stuck out and was a lighter color. Orthodontics would have been the best solution, but Dave would not consider braces. Without braces, we can only create the illusion of straight teeth. A root canal, post and crown was done on the lateral incisor, and a veneer was done on the central incisor, to make it look straighter.
February - Composite Bonding February had a space between her front teeth all of her life. It was her birthday, and she wanted to close the space in time for her birthday party that night. The only way to make cosmetic changes the same day is by resin bonding directly in the mouth. Equal portions of composite resins were bonded to February’s central incisors, effectively closing the gap. Now ready for her birthday party!
Hiram - Porcelain Crown Many decades previous, Hiram had a crown done on the central incisor on the right. Typical of crowns of this period, it had no variation of color. Every part was the same shade of white, and there was no surface texture to break up the light. A new crown was fabricated and surface texture was added, paying particular attention to adding different colors within the crown.
Joann - Composite Bonding Joann was a dental hygienist with a nearly perfect smile. One day the incisor on the left of the photo fractured. This tooth was always the only one imperfectly aligned in Joann's smile. Since only this tooth was crooked, orthodontics was not practical. Instead, we carried the resin bonding from the broken corner, and covered the whole front of the incisor.
Laura - Porcelain Crowns Laura came to us with a hodgepodge of large resin fillings that were deteriorating. One lateral incisor was dark because of a root canal, and the other stuck out unnaturally. In Laura's case, only full crowns could net the change in shape and color she desired. Four incisor crowns based on Ziconium instead of metal were used to give a more natural effect.
Lisa - Composite Bonding When excess space is caused by small tooth size, as it was with Lisa, the solution is resin bonding or porcelain veneers. With only a single tooth needing modification, we judged the easiest way to match adjacent natural teeth would be resin bonding. The space was filled within 40 minutes. Note how closely the color of the resin bonding matches that of Lisa's natural tooth color.
Petra - Porcelain Crown Petra had all-porcelain crowns placed on her upper teeth by another dentist. This type of crown is beautiful, but more prone to breakage, especially with a deep overbite like Petra's. We replaced Petra's broken porcelain crown with a more durable porcelain and metal crown. Transparency on the edge helped it blend with the all-porcelain crown to the left.
Tony - Porcelain Crowns Tony's front teeth had been chipped or worn for so long, he could not remember what caused it. The damage marred his otherwise attractive smile. Fearing porcelain veneers might be fractured by the same forces that created the wear, Tony elected to have porcelain crowns with zirconium cores. We were careful with the contour to maintain a masculine smile.
Wesley - Orthodontics & Composite Bonding Sometimes patients like Wesley are missing upper lateral incisors. Orthodontics was completed by moving Wesley's canine tooth in the lateral incisor space, but it still looked odd. Composite resin was applied to Wesley’s canine, to change the shape to resemble a cross between a lateral incisor and a canine.
Terrance - Teeth Whitening Terrance was a policeman who wanted whiter teeth. We prefer daily application of bleach via trays. It is gentler and causes less sensitivity. All of Terrance's teeth used to be the same color. He finished bleaching his upper teeth. Notice the difference in color. Satisfied with the result on the upper, he will now bleach his lower teeth.
Teeth Whitening Results like this on the upper arch can be achieved economically in as little as three weeks by wearing a custom tray with bleach during sleep. Satisfied with the results on the upper teeth, the patient bleached the lower teeth later.
Alvin - Porcelain Crown Which front tooth is the real tooth, and which one is a crown? Sometimes with our all-porcelain crowns, it is difficult to tell! Alvin's old mismatched crown finally broke. He no interest in whitening his other front teeth. He just wanted as natural a smile as we could give him. Note the incredible amount of surface texture baked into the porcelain of the crown.

EasyRotator