If you had to guess what percentage of people wanted to change something about their teeth what would you think it was? 15? 50? How about over 60 percent? Believe it or not more than half of us wish that we could fix at least one perceived flaw in our smiles.

At Edgewood Dental Care we’re glad that we can offer a variety of cosmetic dental services to make that happen, but we also don’t want to get ahead of ourselves: it isn’t always quite that easy.

We see a lot of patients who want to correct their smiles, and a good deal of them have to make some other plans first. In order to correct cosmetic flaws you have to first be sure your smile is good and healthy. After that then you can start considering making it look good!

What Has To Happen?
The cosmetic services you want will determine what kinds of oral health restoration needs to happen beforehand. Ideally you’ll be in great shape, but there’s always the chance you’ll need something simple fixed first.

Bonding And Veneers
Both dental bonding and porcelain veneers are designed to reshape your teeth. They can mask deep stains, repair chips and dings, close gaps, and even reshape odd teeth. Veneers are attached to your teeth after being built at a dental lab, while bonds are constructed directly on your teeth at our Edgewood office.

No matter which one you choose it’s essential that your teeth are decay-free before having them applied. If we don’t clear up cavities before covering your teeth we could seal them in – that’s bad news! Cavities that are sealed between a restoration and a tooth won’t simply stop. They’ll keep spreading until they break through the other side of your teeth!

Orthodontic Treatments
Whether you’re interested in traditional braces or a short-term solution like Invisalign there’s an incredibly important prerequisite that has to be met: healthy gums.

Moving teeth is a pretty complicated process, and if you’re dealing with gum disease there’s a possibility that they’ll never re-anchor in their new positions. Gum disease has the potential to weaken the bone that holds your teeth. Paired with the bone movement that occurs during orthodontic treatment you can be looking at teeth that loosen and never re-firm.

Our first step in orthodontic care is always going to be treating your gums for problems. Trust us: you don’t want to deal with the alternative.

Gum Reshaping
When you smile do you show off an excessive amount of gingival tissue? If so, you may have considered gum reshaping before. We can use dental lasers to remove excess gum tissue and completely change your smile, but we can’t do anything if your gums aren’t healthy!

In some cases of severe gingivitis or gum disease we’ll use similar lasers to vaporize damaged or dead tissue, but for a cosmetic application, we want to be sure your gums are in good shape. If you have gum disease while undergoing a gum reshaping procedure you’ll have a harder time healing, the results may not be perfect due to inflammation, and weakened gums could peel back even further.

Teeth Whitening
It doesn’t seem like teeth whitening would be a problem, does it? Unfortunately, it is! You may be familiar with teeth whitening’s reputation for causing tooth sensitivity: now add tooth decay to that and you’ve got even more pain.

The KöR whitening we use is great at preventing sensitivity, but that doesn’t mean you can do it while you have cavities. If we’re going to brighten that smile you’re going to need fillings first!

Getting Your Treatment Right Is Goal #1
When you come to Edgewood Dental Care for cosmetic services we always perform a full exam and include any prerequisite services in your treatment plan. We want to make sure that your treatments, both cosmetic and restorative, give you a reason to really smile. That’s why we’ll never perform a procedure before your mouth is completely ready for it.

If you want to find out more about the cosmetic services we offer, your oral health, and what you need to get the look you’ve always wanted all you have to do is call us and schedule an appointment. We’re looking forward to helping you get the healthy, happy smile of your dreams!

You can reach us at 859-474-7830 or you can request an appointment online.