Our cosmetic teeth straightening and composite bonding case of the month is really simple yet effective cosmetic dental treatment. In many cases, our patients would simply like to straighten the front teeth only which is quite understandable. If the front 4 teeth or incisor teeth or crooked, overlapping or gappy, then we have techniques which can help to solve the problems. One of those is the Social 6 lingual brace which is especially designed for the incisor teeth only.
 

Our case of the month for March is a simple but great one- we love it so much! It features composite bonding which is a favourite treatment of ours. People often ask what is cosmetic or composite bonding. Well the answer is simple. For many years, dentists have been using adhesive technology to bond fillings inside of teeth. The same technology can be applied to the outside of teeth to make them look pretty! In essence, if a tooth is worn down, fractured, uneven or discoloured then composite bonding can be used to enhance the tooth without having to cut the tooth down or destroy healthy tooth enamel. After all, dental enamel is the hardest tissue in the body for a good reason. It is there to protect teeth- why on earth would we cut it all away? The old days of Extreme Makeover (remember that show) are over. 

Often cosmetic bonding can be used for very subtle treatments such as our case. In this example, we treated the front teeth using Social 6 lingual braces to straighten the teeth first and then use composite bonding to enhance the smile line to even the edges, make pointed teeth look natural and camouflage the canine teeth which were quite pointed. There was absolutely no drilling of the underlying teeth, no needles were required, an entirely pain free process. Take a look at the difference:
 

Our case of the month for last month February 2021 is a stunning case which involves a smile transformation using three techniques:

1. Lingual Braces

2. Tooth whitening using a take home whitening kit

3. Cosmetic bonding 

We like to call this a Progressive Smile transformation as there is no drilling, no injections, no pain and the process is affordable and easy to maintain. In contrast to porcelain veneers or crowns which require drilling away of healthy tooth enamel to cover the teeth with the ceramic. Granted, this may look good to begin with but what about in 10 years? Biologically, removing the enamel means that the hardest tissue in the body can no longer protect the underlying tooth which could lead to bacterial leakage and infection. Why risk this? 

Time has flown by and we forgot to post our case of the month for December so we have decided to combine them with a tremendous case study involving a complete smile makeover. 

Our client really hated her smile. The main issues were that the smile was not wide enough, the back teeth caved in so that they were not visible on photos and the bite was all over the place. As well as teeth crowding and an overall yellow shade, so a number of aesthetic problems. 

After careful planning, which is always the key to success, Dr Nissit Patel formulated a treatment plan which involved full upper and lower invisible braces which would develop the arches and improve the smile width. The bite, or we call it occlusion, was improved and treatment was completed with tooth whitening. 

Overall, the treatment time frame was 12 months and we needed adjustment visits every 6 weeks in general. One of the key aspects in a comprehensive case like this, is the use of elastics. These are worn from the upper teeth to the lower teeth , ideally 20 hours of the day. The reason for this is to improve the way the teeth sit together. If you are not committed, the end results will not be as good! 

Here is a before and after photograph. Truly stunning!