Different Types of Cosmetic Dental Procedures

Cosmetic dentistry covers a wide range of treatments, and the right one depends on what specifically bothers you. Here is how the main options compare, including the part that often gets glossed over: how much of your own tooth each one removes.

Whitening

Changes colour only. Removes no tooth structure and is entirely reversible in the sense that teeth gradually return towards their previous shade. Works well on general yellowing from age, food and drink. Does not work on existing crowns, veneers or white fillings, and works poorly on deep internal staining.

Bonding

Composite resin shaped directly onto the tooth to repair a chip, close a small gap or mask a defect. Usually requires little or no tooth removal. Completed in one visit. Less durable than porcelain and more prone to staining over the years, but repairable and comparatively inexpensive.

Veneers

Thin porcelain shells bonded to the front of the tooth. Normally requires removing a layer of enamel, which does not grow back. That makes them a permanent commitment: a prepared tooth will always need a veneer or crown from then on. Excellent for changing shape, colour and minor alignment across several front teeth at once.

Crowns

Cover the whole tooth. Involve the most tooth removal of these options, so they are used where a tooth is already heavily filled, cracked, or root-treated and needs protection rather than only improvement in appearance.

Orthodontics

Worth mentioning here because crooked teeth are often treated cosmetically with veneers when moving them would be the more conservative answer. Braces or aligners remove no tooth structure at all. They take longer, but the teeth remain intact.

How to choose

Ask three questions about any proposed cosmetic treatment: how much of my own tooth does this remove, is it reversible, and what happens when it eventually needs replacing? A dentist who answers those directly is one worth listening to.