For others, the real problems with our teeth developed later on. Without parental guidance to take us to the dentist, we revelled in our freedom perhaps a little bit too much and we drank black coffee, red wine and fizzy drinks of just about every colour we could lay our hands on. In addition, some of us may have smoked a few cigarettes and wolfed down a few sugary snacks. If we take this and add it to the youthful damage described above, we can see a pattern emerging.

The problem, after all, with doing exactly what we wanted, when we wanted it, is that there is payback some way along the line, and in the case of your teeth it can appear very prominently. If you have serious staining and decay, there may not be enough for a cosmetic dentist to work with in terms of whitening the tooth. It may be the case that they have to crown it instead.

Having a crown placed on your tooth is something of a “fresh start”, whatever has happened to get your teeth in that condition in the first place. Once you have this done, it is important to leave behind the choices that led to the decay or the damage that was done to your teeth. However, you are unlikely to be ignorant of this information – often, the dentist needs to grind away much of the original tooth in order to fit the crown, so it is impossible to be unaware of the seriousness of the treatment. Nonetheless, as a repair for teeth that are not fit for purpose, the choice to have crowns fitted may be a good one.

The one thing that all tooth-whitening procedures have in common is that they use peroxide as a way of bleaching the teeth, or more specifically on the enamel surface. The major difference that laser treatment has against other methods is that the laser treatment carries a larger dose of peroxide, and a more effective treatment which generally does the job in one sitting. Due to this it allows a dentist to focus specifically on the areas that really need treated – whether that be your front teeth or somewhere on the lower row.

One thing that puts a lot of people off the idea of having their teeth whitened with laser treatment is the idea of a laser being dangerous. However, the type of laser used in tooth whitening is actually an argon laser which carries none of the potential dangers that other laser treatments for other parts of the body have had in the past. There is no sensation of heat when an argon laser is trained on your teeth, nor does it result in bleaching of the gums or chemical burns.

As with any other form of cosmetic dentistry, you should first consult your own dentist to ensure that you are going to be safely able to undergo the surgery. There are some cases, and they are rare, in which it is not advisable to undergo laser tooth whitening. Your dentist will be able to inform you on what these are – and whether they need concern you.

The question is, how do you fill that gap? Ideally, you don’t want to leave it as it is, and this is not just for cosmetic reasons. Eating is a much more troublesome process if you have one or more teeth missing, so it is important to have the gap filled. You could have a denture made, but more and more people are feeling that a better approach is to have a dental implant put in place instead. Compared to a denture, an implant will provide a more viable long-term solution, as it aids the integrity of the jaw bone and is more likely to contribute positively to the health of surrounding teeth.

Dental implants are made from titanium – one of the strongest metals commercially available, and happily one that is friendly to bone and which integrates well. The bad news is that putting one in place does involve drilling a hole in your jaw bone – which sounds horribly painful. The good news is that due to anaesthetic you won’t feel very much, and that this process aids the integration of the implant into the bone tissue, creating as a result a very stable foundation.

In addition to those technical factors, it is notable that a dental implant works a lot more like a natural tooth than a denture. Therefore eating an apple or similar “hard” food will not be problematic, and your dental routine need not be disturbed by the presence of the implant, as all you need to do is the same thing you would do with normal teeth.

As well as this, the rise in popularity of cosmetic dental treatments has led to an increase in patient waiting lists, even though the treatment is only available privately. A cosmetic dentist offering good value will naturally have more people waiting to get the treatment they want, while a dentist with poor reviews or sky-high costs will have a pretty big black mark against their name in terms of attracting customers who are not either 100% certain, desperate or very cash-rich. For this reason, a number of people – and a growing number at that – have been exploring the prospect of going abroad to have treatment.

For one thing, a lot of the medical treatments available on the continent are a lot more affordable than the same treatment back home. Although one might expect a resultant drop in quality, this is not always, or even usually, the case. Sometimes the treatment, and the facilities, are competitive with and even better than those available on British soil. It depends where you go, of course. The same is true everywhere – there are some dentists who are better than others, whichever country you go to.

Indeed, there are even some companies offering “dental tourism” trips which encompass a spell of sight-seeing and exploration along with the dental treatment that you receive. This may seem like a strange idea, but when you take into account that some of the more unspoiled areas of Europe are included in the list of places that you can go to for dental treatment, then it makes a lot of sense. People go on golfing holidays and fishing trips, so why not have a dental holiday?

In a way, composite bonding is very much like having a little something extra added to your teeth. In fact, this is almost exactly what it is. The “composite” is essentially a paste-like substance which is added to your teeth in order to create the appearance of “more”. Indeed, it is more than just an appearance, because the technique is used to fill cavities as well as repairing chipped teeth. For repairing or closing a gap in your teeth, composite bonding works well because it simply adds to the teeth rather than requiring a great deal of surgery.

Is there a drawback to composite bonding? Well, there is, in as much as there is a drawback to any kind of corrective or cosmetic treatment. That which is put in place by a doctor or dentist will not be an absolute match for that which your body grows completely naturally. You may find that the parts of your teeth that are made from composite paste seem to stain more easily than those that are made from enamel. This is an issue you have to look at from your own point of view – do you mind that your teeth may require more maintenance once the work is done?

Additionally, the bonding is not quite as strong as the enamel of your teeth, nor as other synthetic materials which are used for similar treatment. This should not, however, matter too much over time, as long as you assiduously carry out your specified dental routine to keep your teeth clean and free of potential decay.

The progress of technology has been somewhat steady in recent years towards a point where things no longer need to be “done well or done quickly”. It is now possible for many things to be done well and quickly, and this is shown very comprehensively by CEREC dentistry, which allows a patient to go in for work on their teeth, have their needs assessed, and the necessary work done that very day – even within an hour or two. While people may have previously ruled out having a false tooth made on the grounds of the hours they would have to commit to it, CEREC treatment removes that necessity.

Whatever you need to have done to your teeth, CEREC treatment involves looking at your mouth through the wonders of digital imaging. While dentists once had to take a putty cast of the tooth in question, they can now take a digital photograph of the tooth in your mouth and convert it into a three-dimensional model, on which the new false tooth – or restorative crown – is based. Once all of the necessary data has been collected, it is then sent to a machine which makes the new tooth or crown in as little as six minutes – and half an hour at most.

Having done this work, the dentist can then do the final parts of the job, which may involve polishing the tooth, before cementing it into place and restoring your smile to what you wish it to be. Because this only takes one visit, it can often work out at a more reasonable price than a more low-tech solution – even though it is ground breaking technology.

So can you take the situation into your own hands and decide to whiten your teeth yourself? The answer to this question depends very largely on a number of matters, not least of which is how sure you are that you can get it right. It is not just a matter of following instructions, after all. People wouldn’t pay for the treatment if it was simple enough to do it yourself. OK, some might, but cosmetic dentistry has become a fairly wealthy industry because its practitioners can do things that most of us cannot.

There are home tooth-whitening kits. Some of the most popular brands to use are freely available over the counter in most good pharmacies. They always have a picture of someone smiling very brightly on the front and that person’s teeth are always perfectly white. The impression is that if you use that stuff, you’ll have a smile like them. However, it is generally held that the majority of home whitening kits do a little to whiten your teeth but never get them to a really impressive level – and by the time you’ve lost patience with them, you’ve spent a lot.

One has only to surf the Internet for a short period to pick up tips on how to make a tooth-whitening solution yourself. However, caution must be urged in this. The general advice is to combine baking soda with hydrogen peroxide until you have a solution that you can coat your teeth with, and then let the magic take place. will this work? Well, you might be lucky and have some success, or you might get the solution wrong and make yourself very ill. It is a better idea to research cosmetic dentists in your area and find one who has got good reviews and reasonable prices. It may cost more up front, but it will work and it will be quick.

Those of us who are afraid to smile may feel that we are stuck with the problem – how exactly do we change what we have been given? And although there may be a limit to what we can change about our smile, the fact is that there are things we can do – and these things can have such a profound effect on our self-confidence that they are worth the (increasingly competitive) prices that we may pay for them.

Of course, it is not exactly “cheap” to pay for cosmetic dental treatment. However, it is also not anywhere near as expensive as you might suspect. The right treatment to turn your smile into one that you would be proud to flash at anybody may set you back a lot less than you had imagined. It may require simply a visit to the dentist for gum contouring, or to have your teeth whitened by laser or by other means. It may be a combination of a number of different treatments.

The truth is that while there are actually very few people who are going to look out for a bad smile, and grimace in response, the effect that a great smile can have in social and business situations can be massively beneficial. Just knowing that you have it and can flash it at a moment’s notice to turn a situation to your advantage could well be worth the cost on its own.

That said, the thing that is to be recognized about most elective surgery is that it is done at the expense of the person receiving it. In Britain there is a pretty much constant tug-of-war that takes place over what sort of medical treatment should be “free at the point of care” – that is to say, covered by the NHS – and what should only be available privately, and therefore to people who can afford to pay for it from their own pocket. At present, it is impossible to get cosmetic dentistry carried out on the NHS – so if you want it done, you will have to foot the bill.

In many ways, this is a very good gauge of how much you want or need cosmetic dentistry. Assuming that you can afford to have the treatment, you can look at the cost and decide whether you feel comfortable spending what it takes to have a procedure carried out. It is not essential to have your teeth whitened. It may well help you a great deal, particularly depending on your line of work, but it is never essential. The choice is yours – and only yours. Other people may not agree with your reasoning, but if they are not paying or having the work carried out, their objections can remain theoretical.

What it comes down to in the end is how much you want the surgery. You may have very good, solid reasons for wanting to have it carried out. In this case, if it is too expensive up front, you may need to save up for the treatment. If you do, however, then this at least gives you the time to think it through and know you have made the right decision.

What are Lumineers?

Lumineers are an Ultra-thin alternative to traditional veneer coverings for your teeth. Whether you want to cure your chipped teeth, or create the perfect sparkling white smile, Lumineers will help you to achieve the look you’ve always wanted. This pain free procedure can cure a number of dental defects including – fanged teeth, crooked teeth, chipped teeth, discoloured teeth or stained teeth.

How do Lumineers work?

Lumineers are made from cerinate porcelain, a very strong material that is much thinner and easier to wear than the traditional larger veneers. The non-invasive procedure attaches .2mm ceramic shells to your teeth. The slimmer design means that no bulk is added to your teeth and your new smile is comfortable and easy to wear. The cerinate porcelain material is very strong, is fully resistant to micro-leakage, micro-cracking, and your new improved smile will last and look great for around 20 years.

Your dentist will take an impression of your teeth, and your custom made shells are then created to fit your teeth perfectly. The pain free cosmetic procedure doesn’t require anaesthetics or numbing, as the shells are applied directly to your teeth. Lumineers are easy to fit, and will actually help to strengthen your teeth. You won’t have to wear any temporaries, and you’ll be able to have your brand new smile in no time at all.

You won’t even be able to tell that you’re wearing veneers, as the shells are just so natural, and are perfectly made to fit your teeth. The translucency of the Lumineers is so realistic and your teeth will look incredible in any light.

Veneers Vs. Lumineers: What are the main differences?

Lumineers are thinner and feel more natural than regular veneers. With a regular veneer, you’ll find that large amounts of your tooth will need to be removed, with either painful shaving or grinding. This isn’t the case with Lumineers, as they need little to no preparation before they’re fitted. The procedure is fully reversible and can sit over existing crown or bridgework, unlike the traditional veneer techniques.