Have you noticed that your teeth seem irregular in length? If one of your teeth seems a little longer than the rest, you might worry about this distraction to the overall appearance of your smile.
But to find a way to make your smile appear more even, you need to consult with your dentist. Attempting to file or shave down your tooth yourself can lead to severe, irreversible damage to your smile.
Schedule a cosmetic dental consultation today to learn more about the smile enhancement opportunities that will suit your needs. And read on to learn more about why dentists might recommend teeth shaving to accomplish your smile goals.
How Can Teeth Shaving Benefit My Smile?
Dental recontouring or reshaping involves removing a minute amount of enamel, the hard outer layer of your tooth. The process is painless and can make the teeth appear smoother in shape as well as more uniform and even. For this reason, many people may ask their dentists about this treatment for cosmetic purposes.
But tooth recontouring can also be used to improve your oral health. Patients with overcrowding in their smiles due to large tooth sizes or small jaws can benefit from shaving down the teeth. This creates more room in the mouth to make the patient feel more comfortable.
A dentist may also employ this treatment to fix a patient’s bite problems. Reshaping a tooth can get rid of an obstacle that might otherwise make the jaw crooked and create pain and dysfunction in oral capabilities.
Dentists will also use this technique to help oral appliances fit into the mouth. They will prepare a tooth for a crown or to improve the fit of custom dentures this way.
Am I a Good Candidate for Cosmetic Tooth Recontouring?
Your dentist will evaluate your existing dental structure when you attend a consultation appointment. They will discuss your smile aesthetic goals with you and determine the ideal, personalized treatment plan to achieve these desires without compromising your oral health.
Patients will need to have strong teeth to qualify for this cosmetic dental solution. The dentist removes enamel from the teeth during this procedure. So you must retain enough healthy enamel so that your smile can stay shielded and protected following this treatment. If you suffer from enamel erosion or other dental problems, you might need to pursue alternative treatments.
What Other Smile Enhancement Treatments Can Help My Teeth?
If you are not eligible for cosmetic tooth recontouring, your dentist can recommend other treatments to achieve your smile aesthetic goals. For instance, a dentist might suggest tooth bonding. During this treatment, a dentist applies composite resin to the affected teeth and molds it to make teeth brighter, fuller, and more even.
Dentists might also build porcelain veneers for their patients, which involve custom shells that attach to the front of certain teeth. These fixtures can also make irregular teeth more even. And you can see long-lasting benefits since veneers will endure for about fifteen years on your smile.