Solutions for a Gap Toothed Smile

Dentistry has come a long way in technology and quality of patient care. The typical reasons for visiting the dentist have expanded from toothaches and cavities to the desire for a dazzling white, straight, perfect smile. And with today’s improvements in porcelain veneers and tooth bonding, perfection is quite possible.

Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain veneers are paper-thin tooth covers your cosmetic dentist custom-creates for your front teeth. They can be shaped and sized to fit your own teeth, while also covering small gaps, chips and stains. Many dentists require you to come for at least two visits for veneers. But some, such as Dr. Michael Iott in New York City, have up-to-date technology which can do it all in one visit. His website gives a series of 11 photos showing how it’s done.

The veneer procedure in one visit

1. Your cosmetic dentist removes a thin layer of enamel from the outside of the tooth. This is not painful, because there are no nerves in the enamel.
2. He takes a digital image of your prepared teeth and enters it into the CEREC machine. Using the computer in the CEREC machine, he designs your new veneer
3. Porcelain of the right color to match your natural teeth is selected and the CEREC milling system makes your veneer.
4. Your cosmetic dentist will shape it more precisely, fine-tuning it for your particular smile, and apply further coloring, because teeth have several shades of white, not just one
5. The final veneer is then baked in a ceramic oven
6. Your dentist positions it on your tooth. You can then look in a mirror to see what you think and the dentist will attach it permanently with dental cement.

Veneers improve your smile and strengthen your teeth. It takes about 6 veneers to complete the transformation (typically, 4 upper central teeth, and one canine tooth on each side of them).

Tooth Bonding
Another good alternative for a gap toothed smile is tooth bonding, in which the cosmetic dentist applies a tooth-colored composite resin to your teeth. Matched to your natural tooth color, this resin fills in gaps and chips to perfect your smile.

There are three main steps in applying tooth bonding:

1. Your cosmetic dentist prepares the surface of the tooth to accept the bonding material
2. The bonded material is sculpted to fit your tooth as well to cover the gaps
3. The bonding material is hardened with a high intensity light, creating a long-lasting bond

Tooth bonding can be completed in just one visit, which is rewarding for the patient who goes in to the cosmetic dentist’s office with a gap toothed smile and walks out with a beautiful new look! Bonding is not painful, although some patients may feel a bit of extra sensitivity to extreme temperatures for a short time afterwards.

Caring for your bonded teeth is easy too. Regular brushing, flossing, using a dentist-recommended, non-abrasive toothpaste, and faithfully reporting for cleanings and checkups every six months will go a long way towards keeping your new smile beautiful.