Cosmetic Dentistry Services

The dental veneer procedure can often be completed in two visits over the course of six weeks. The visits are comprehensive and may require several hours of examination and tooth preparation. Dental offices typically boast amenities that may include sedation and audio/visual distractions, and dental spas even offer massages and other services to help you relax and stay comfortable.

The diagnostic and examination phase of treatment is essential and identifies any oral health concerns that must first be addressed before veneer placement. King Street Dental Care also will work with you to select the best tooth color for you from a special shade chart. Imaging technologies can provide you with a preview of your expected results, and before and after images can allow you to view other successful cases. Treatment begins when the examination is completed and the customized plan designed.

Professional bleaching is the most usual method of tooth whitening. Your dental team will be able to tell you if you are suitable for the treatment, and will supervise it if you are. First, the dental team will put a rubber shield or a gel on your gums to protect them. They will then apply the whitening product to your teeth, using a specially made tray that fits into your mouth like a mouthguard.

The ‘active ingredient' in the product is usually hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. As the active ingredient is broken down, oxygen gets into the enamel on the teeth and the tooth color is made lighter.

There is now laser whitening or ‘power whitening.' During this procedure, a rubber dam is put over your teeth to protect the gums, and a bleaching product is painted onto your teeth. Then a light or laser is shone on the teeth to activate the chemical. The light speeds up the reaction of the whitening product and the color change can be achieved more quickly. Laser whitening is said to make teeth up to five or six shades lighter.

Whether your treatment plan calls for direct composite restorations or adhesively bonded restorations, dentists start the process by using a rubber dam to isolate the teeth, to prevent interference from moisture. Depending on the extent of the treatment, anesthetic injections may be required.

Your dentist would then apply a gentle phosphoric acid solution to the surface of the natural tooth, which won’t hurt. Similar to how roughing up a surface with sandpaper can help paint adhere to it better, acid etching of the tooth surface strengthens the bond of the composite and the adhesive. After 15 seconds the phosphoric acid is removed, and a liquid bonding agent is applied.

Your dentist then will place a putty-like composite resin in stages on the natural surface of the tooth, then shape and sculpt it.

A high-intensity curing light will be used to harden that layer of composite, and the previous step will be repeated, then cured, until the filling or direct composite veneer has reached its final shape.

Your dentist also will create an appropriate finish to ensure that the bonded resin does not dislodge or cause tooth sensitivity, and feels and looks smooth.

Your dentist will place the appropriate adhesive into the restoration, seat the restoration on the tooth, and light-cure it using a high-intensity curing light for the appropriate amount of time.

It is not uncommon for a bonded tooth – particularly one that has been filled or on which a crown or inlay/onlay has been placed – to feel sensitive after treatment. This minor sensitivity is often short-lived, but if it persists, see your dentist.