The 5 Most Affordable Cosmetic Dentistry Treatments

Sharing your smile is a way to show confidence, create happiness, and make a great first impression. Yet, if your teeth are less than perfect, you may resist smiling to avoid embarrassment. If this describes you, cosmetic dentistry may be a great option to help.

While you may think all cosmetic treatments are expensive, that is not always the case. As a matter of fact, there are beneficial treatments that are highly affordable and can be just what you need to enhance your smile. Here are five of them you might want to consider.

1. Professional Teeth Whitening

Teeth can stain and yellow at different stages of your life. They can also appear dull, decreasing the effectiveness of your smile. Fortunately, teeth whitening by your dentist is one of the most affordable cosmetic dentistry treatments available.

Staining and discoloration can be due to different factors, including your diet. If you consume certain food and beverages such as berries, red wine, or coffee, over time, your teeth will darken. Even if you brush regularly, staining can still occur and be difficult to remove or fade.

Your teeth can also become noticeably discolored when tartar or plaque builds up and creates dark splotches or cavities. As you age, teeth naturally begin to yellow, and internal or chemical changes in the body can cause additional staining.

Professional teeth whitening can help with all of these. Your dentist will oversee the entire process, ensuring a safe and effective treatment.

Benefits will include obtaining a more even coloring across teeth, less irritation of gums, monitoring of any tooth sensitivity to the whitening agent, and the ability to choose how much whitening you want. It is also faster due to the professional-grade whitening agent involved.

2. Tooth Colored Fillings

When you think of cosmetic dentistry, you most likely don’t consider fillings as a way to improve your appearance. Normally thought of as a restorative dentistry solution, fillings can also cross over into cosmetic dentistry as an affordable option for improving your smile.

Situations where this can occur include if you currently have small or larger fillings which appear darker or more stained than the rest of the tooth, causing them to stand out when you smile. You might also have silver amalgam fillings which give your teeth a grayish appearance.

If either of these is occurring and you’re looking to improve your smile, consider tooth-colored fillings as an affordable solution. These fillings can either be made from resin or porcelain.

Porcelain fillings are tailored to match both the color and shape of your natural teeth, effectively causing them to blend in. Resin fillings are popular and also can closely match the color of the other teeth that show when you smile.

3. Bonding

Dental bonding is not only cost-effective but can be completed within a single visit to your dentist. It is a safe, effective, quick, and non-invasive cosmetic treatment.

Bonding is best for correcting minor aesthetic conditions such as:

• Minor chips or cracks
• Gaps
• Blemishes on the tooth surface
• Misshapen teeth

The material used for bonding is a resin that matches your natural teeth, thus blending in naturally and creating a more even smile. This resin is attached to the front of one or more teeth, shaped, and then set in place using an ultraviolet light.

4. Dental (or CEREC) Crowns

A dental crown is a tooth-like capping that is positioned over the top of a damaged, decayed, misshapen, or deeply discolored tooth. It is highly durable, so will last you a long time.

Crowns help improve the appearance of the teeth that show when you smile. Not only can they reshape your smile, but they also are designed to match your natural tooth color as closely as possible.

You may just need one crown to make a noticeable improvement in your smile’s appearance or more than one.

At South Dayton Smiles, we offer patients two options: traditional crowns or CEREC crowns. CEREC crowns involve advanced technology and can be designed and created quickly.

It all starts with preparation of your natural tooth, which involves numbing the area first. Impressions will be made next for reference.

A special software program will design the actual model of your crown, ensuring it matches the shape of your teeth and mouth. The final design specifications are then sent to advanced CEREC equipment for creation.

Once ready, and before bonding the crown to your natural tooth, small adjustments are made until the fit is just right.

5. Veneers

Veneers can beautifully alter the appearance of your teeth and easily enhance your smile. Patients often choose this customizable option for a variety of reasons, with the most common ones being to cover stained or discolored teeth, correct chipped, cracked, or poorly shaped teeth, or correct crooked teeth in the smile zone.

A veneer is a thin ceramic or porcelain sheet or covering placed over the front surface of the tooth. It creates a look that mirrors natural teeth and improves your overall smile.

While these veneers are strong and durable, you will need to take care of them by brushing and flossing and also avoid biting down on hard objects, such as ice, nuts, and hard candy.

Restoring a beautiful smile is possible, even when you are on a strict budget. Discuss your situation with your dentist, and together you can develop a personalized treatment plan to meet both your dental needs and your wallet.

Contact South Dayton Smiles for All Your Cosmetic Dentistry Needs

Creating and maintaining an attractive smile can boost your confidence while also improving your oral health now and long into the future. South Dayton Smiles can help, offering affordable cosmetic dentistry treatments to help you get to where you want to go. Contact our office today and schedule a consultation.