Almost everybody wants a beautiful smile. Advances in dental materials have made it possible for most of us to have a pleasing, natural smile. Improving the appearance of teeth can be as simple as bleaching or as complicated as placing porcelain veneers.

Bleaching:
It is now possible to change the color of many teeth with simple home and office bleaching procedures. In office "power" bleaching uses a concentrated bleaching solution along with heat and light to quickly brighten the pearly whites in about an hour. Patients desiring "at home" bleaching can whiten their teeth using a milder bleaching solution and specially made plastic trays. This procedure usually involves wearing a bleaching tray for 1-2 hours per night for 6 weeks. We have found it to be very effective and long lasting. This procedure is safe and very effective at whitening most discolored teeth.

Bleaching discolored root canal teeth:
Front teeth often get darker after root canal treatment. Using a stronger bleaching agent, it is possible to whiten many of these teeth to their original color. Known as a "walking" bleach, this procedure usually takes 3-4 weeks and is painless.

Composite and porcelain veneers:
A veneer is simply a cover for the tooth. Some teeth are so discolored or misshapen that simple bleaching and reshaping is ineffective. We veneer teeth with two materials--composite and porcelain. Composite veneers are fabricated directly on the tooth with tooth colored filling materials.

They are quite aesthetic, but generally have to be redone every few years due to wear and tear. Porcelain veneers are fabricated in a dental laboratory and usually involve removing a minimal amount of tooth structure. They are very beautiful and can last many years.

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