A lot many times we complain about our teeth, their crookedness or unevenness, and we aspire to have that thing called – a perfect smile. While some of us embrace the unevenness of our teeth and accept it as a part of our appearance, some people have issues other than appearance, which can create problems for them in the long run and can be a cause of oral diseases and discomfort. It can be dealt with, with the help of cosmetic dentistry.

In this article, we will discuss cosmetic dentistry.

What Is Cosmetic Dentistry?

Cosmetic dentistry refers to a professional medical practice that enables these professionals to pay heed to the beautification of the oral aspects of a person. It includes various aspects that help people to treat various oral situations starting from a small unimportant fixing procedure to big, significant, and major surgeries.

This form of dentistry is becoming very popular and is expected to grow immensely, however, it is not a specialty yet, but it helps one in feeling more confident about their oral aspects.

What all comes under the purview of cosmetic dentistry?

While general dentistry and cosmetic dentistry are not very different they require the same educational training and can perform the same dental procedures on a patient, the basic point of difference is that a general dentist aims to take basic oral care of a patient, while a cosmetic dentist pays attention to the beautification aspect of a patient, and aims to improve the appearance.

Thus, cosmetic dentistry includes all those procedures that a general dentist can perform, such as:

1. Teeth whitening:

It is a procedure that helps one to whiten the color of their teeth that might have faded due to many reasons such as staining from food, smoking, drinks, etc. The color of teeth is a vital aspect of a person’s smile, it is one of the most common procedure that a cosmetic dentist performs.

2. Dental veneers:

It is a procedure that involves fixing a white shell-like structure that is fixed over the gums that resemble the natural teeth, they help in fixing the problem of the unevenness of teeth, it begins with removal of some layer of dirt from the teeth enamel first and then fixing of veneers.

It is another procedure that a cosmetic dentist usually performs.

3. Dental caps:

It is commonly known as fixing a dental crown on to the teeth that have discolored over time due to a number of reasons such as to cover damaged teeth. While dental crowns are used by a cosmetic dentist Idaho Falls to cover the decayed appearance of the teeth, it also helps weak teeth from wear and tear and keeps them from breaking.

4. Inlays and outlays:

It is a procedure in which a cosmetic dentist uses some kind of filling to support a particular tooth, it is usually done when a tooth decays, inlay is a process on which some part of a tooth is supported with the filling while outlay is a process in which the entire surface of the tooth is supported with the help of filling. It is a substitute for a dental crown and is more useful because it strengthens the tooth with the help of support filling.

5. Other procedures:

There are certain other procedures that a cosmetic dentist performs such as dental implants, dental bonding, enamel abrasion, Invisalign braces, etc.

Pursuing cosmetic dentistry:

While cosmetic dentistry is not given the status of a profession, it is one of those fields that still has not been recognized, but will shine out in the future. One can pursue cosmetic dentistry by getting a Bachelors’ degree in Dental Sciences and getting done a course in Cosmetic Dentistry or pursuing a master’s degree in Dental Sciences and getting specialized in Orthodontics or prosthodontics.

The role of cosmetic dentistry focuses on enhancing the look of a person’s oral attributes, thus, it can make a person more confident in the way he carries himself, it can become a very important part of one’s personality.