Aesthetics

Over time, teeth discolor due to various outside factors. Every food contains dyes that may be deposited on the tooth enamel, particularly to blame are drinks such as coffee, tea, red wine, soda as well as tobacco. Modern dentistry, however, offers several methods to brighten up the darkened teeth.

• Home bleaching: Bleaching is carried out at home. The patient is given a plastic tooth guard by the dentist on which he applies the whitening gel and puts on his/her teeth every night.
• In-office bleaching: Since this procedure is done in the office under the dentist’s supervision, the gums are better protected and the bleaching process accelerated. It works with a high concentration of urea, which ensures a faster and more effective whitening. In both cases the bleaching is preceded by a professional tooth cleaning and followed by a period of non-smoking and non-consumption of the above mentioned beverages for about 1-2 weeks.
• Walking bleach: Root canal treated teeth often take on a grayish color over time. These teeth can also be brightened individually with a strong bleach from the inside. The bleaching gel is placed in the tooth for a few days, and the process can even be carried out again if so desired.

After bleaching, a temporary sensitivity of the teeth may occur, which usually passes after a short time. The method is not harmful to the teeth, it may therefore be repeated several times – within reasonable intervals.

Veneers are very thin ceramic shells for the anterior teeth. They can also be regarded as a special type of ceramic crowns because they only cover the visible outer surface and the cutting edge of the teeth. They look very natural, and only a thin layer of tooth enamel needs to be removed during preparation. This is also their drawback, though: they are very fragile. However, there are cases where they should be taken into consideration:

• Replacement of (not very large) fillings
• Discoloration which can not be removed by bleaching
• Restoration of broken teeth
• Elimination of deeper lying defects in the tooth enamel
• Correction of the shape of teeth
• Correction of the axis of teeth

Nowadays there is often a demand for dental ornamentation. We use Skyce® dental jewelry made of rhinestone. These can simply be glued to the desired location and later completely removed without leaving any damage to the tooth.