Working With a Cosmetic Dentist You Can Do More To Improve Your Health

As a cosmetic dentist, we know that some of the work we perform is still classified as dental work that improves the appearance, or aesthetics, of a person's gums, teeth, and bite without specifically focusing on the function of the teeth themselves. As science is changing, along with it our understanding of how the human mouth functions, more people are beginning to realize that while a gap does exist between cosmetic dentistry and functional dentistry, the gap is certainly not a wide one. There is much overlap between the two.  Cosmetic dentists are involved in numerous procedures that do more than just beautify a person's smile including gingivectomies, installing of bridges, and dental crowns to name a few. Each of these has implications far beyond the esthetic. They contribute to the health, wellbeing, and functionality of the mouth in its ability to be the first step in the digestive process.

When considering cosmetic dentistry, and its ramifications on the functionality of teeth we invite our patients to consider the humble dental crown. Considered by many, including many insurance companies, to be purely cosmetic in nature the dental crown has literally bridged the gap between what looks good and a functional application. When people damage a tooth today, they no longer have to content themselves to life without a tooth or wearing a denture.
Regardless, if the damage is caused by excessive decay or an accident, a dental crown can be put in place. The crown will stop additional damage to the tooth. It will also look, act, and feel like a real tooth. This ability to replace teeth has gone a long way in improving people's quality of life after tooth loss. Since you use your teeth for a number of things from biting to enunciation, having a convenient replacement feels a lot less like the cosmetic side of cosmetic dentistry and more like a functional one.  As a cosmetic dentist, we often use dental crowns to save teeth that would have otherwise been pulled.

Another condition that is common to cosmetic dentistry is misaligned teeth. Typically misaligned teeth manifest as an overbite, underbite, crossbite, overcrowding, or having excessive spacing between the teeth. This condition is known as a malocclusion in dentistry. Malocclusion is classified as a cosmetic fix, and as such repairing a persons misaligned teeth falls to the cosmetic dentistry experts. The reason it is so important to fix your teeth if they are badly aligned is twofold. First, people who have malocclusion tend to put more pressure on their teeth, jaw, and facial muscles. This results in teeth that are slightly more fragile and tend to break, crack, or chip more easily. The second reason it is important to have your malocclusion fixed is from an oral hygiene perspective. When you have teeth that are severely misaligned, it is extremely hard to get the excellent cleaning your teeth need to stay healthy. Even when teeth are perfectly aligned, there are some hard to reach spots that your toothbrush struggles to clean. When you add in the bad spacing or overlapping teeth, it becomes virtually impossible. Unfortunately, unbrushed portions of the teeth tend to develop plaque which can turn into bacterial infections, cavities, or more serious challenges like gingivitis. As such, working with a cosmetic dentist to correct the shape of your teeth, can improve your oral health as well.