subject: What Is Cosmetic Dentistry? [print this page] Cosmetic dentistry is not a specialization in the way that certain other dental specializations are. This is to say that it is not recognized by the American Dental Association as one of their nine specialties, and there is no board certification saying that someone is a cosmetic dentist. Indeed, any dentist Palatine office can say that they offer cosmetic dentistry services because of this lack of certification or licensing. There are however, some certifications which do overlap with cosmetic dentistry in some regard. Both specialists in Orthodontics and Prosthodontics do procedures which might be considered a part of cosmetic dentistry.
This is in many ways though, still a separate area of dentistry. The practices and procedures which are done by cosmetic dentists are separate from those which make up regular dentistry by their very nature. Rather than focusing on procedures and work which is designed to correct oral health care issues, or to preserve oral health, the cosmetic dentistry procedure is instead only concerned with the outward appearance of the mouth. Most of the procedures which fall under the spectrum of 'cosmetic' dentistry are purely for appearances sake.
One of the most common cosmetic dentistry procedures which people ask for is that of teeth whitening. This is something that there has been great focus on in the last several years as more and more options and products for whitening teeth become available. In addition to the options available from a dentist there are now a raft of home based products such as toothpastes and gels, but dentist supervised teeth whitening is still the recommended procedure.
Cosmetic dentists also reshape teeth at times in order to improve their overall appearance. Sometimes they may do a procedure known as enameloplasty, which means they remove and reshape some of the enamel of the tooth in order to remove a small chip.
Dental contouring is one of the most common procedures done by cosmetic dentists. This is when they reshape teeth using a combination of reducing teeth in certain areas and building them up with laminates in others. This procedure can be used to correct a large portion of cosmetic imperfections with teeth, including their length, positioning, or shape.
Cosmetic dentists also do many other procedures. They may apply veneers to teeth. They may perform a gum lift if a more symmetrical or higher gum line is desired. They may also build and install dental bridges, and more.
by: Todd Devins
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