5 Most Common Cosmetic Procedures
Boosting Your Self-confidence
Confidence is beautiful. It’s beautiful in ways that go far beyond the surface—whether you’re dressed to the nines or wearing sweatpants and an old T-shirt. A big portion of feeling truly confident is simply loving yourself and being comfortable in your own skin. Cosmetic procedures, even when they’re only used to change minor aspects of your appearance, can play a key role in helping you to feel more confident. In fact, many of the most popular cosmetic procedures involve relatively minor changes that look incredibly natural but have a huge impact on your overall appearance. Here are 5 of the most common cosmetic procedures out there.
1. Tooth Whitening
Everyone’s teeth start out white, but the truth is that they rarely stay that way. What you eat and drink, the habits you pick up, and aging can all contribute to your teeth staining over time. Honestly, that’s normal! You can minimize how much your teeth stain by forming the right habits, but what if your teeth are already stained? This is where professional tooth whitening treatments come in. These treatments are designed with you in mind, using custom dental trays to deliver whitening gel evenly across your teeth. You can even talk to Dr. Robinson or Dr. Lyerly about what shade you’d like your teeth to become so that they can design your treatment around your goals. This helps ensure that you’ll love the results!
Professional whitening treatments can be done at our Wasilla office in about an hour or in the comfort of your own home. When you choose to use an at-home professional whitening kit, you simply need to wear your custom-made trays every night for about two weeks. The prescription-strength whitening gels and custom-made dental trays used in both of these professional treatments create dramatic results. They carry the potential to make your teeth multiple shades whiter, making them many times more effective than over-the-counter whitening strips. It’s a simple, easy treatment, but even this small change will make your beautiful smile look that much brighter!
2. Veneers
Veneers are thin, tooth-shaped pieces of porcelain that are adhered to the front of one or more teeth. Porcelain is durable and can be buffed and tinted to match your natural teeth, and each veneer is designed specifically for you. You can work with Dr. Robinson or Dr. Lyerly to choose the size, shape, and shade of your veneers. These factors work together to create veneers that are completely unique to you and look just like natural teeth. Veneers have a wide range of uses, helping to restore the appearance of teeth that are permanently stained, chipped, worn, irregularly shaped, or slightly crooked or misaligned. They can also be used to close a small gap between two teeth and to cut down on tooth sensitivity from enamel erosion. Since they’re placed on your teeth individually, porcelain veneers can improve the appearance of one or two of your teeth or transform your entire smile.
Dental veneers are milled in an outside lab, so getting them is a two-step process. Your dentist needs to remove a small layer of enamel to place a veneer, so these cosmetic procedures are permanent. Once you place veneers on a tooth, that tooth will always need veneers. Porcelain veneers are so durable and stain-resistant, however, that with great oral hygiene they can last 10 years or more. This durability, as well as their versatility and the chance they offer to customize your smile, make them an ideal treatment for many people!
3. Bioclear
If you’re hesitating to get dental veneers because of their permanence or cost, Bioclear might be a great solution for you! This unique treatment is relatively new and Dr. Robinson is the only dentist in Alaska who is currently certified in it, but it’s quickly gaining in popularity. It’s easy to see why—Bioclear is durable, affordable, and fast! The treatment is also versatile enough to resolve chipped or permanently stained teeth, small gaps between your teeth, and “black triangles” at your gum line.
Bioclear consists of a liquid composite resin that’s placed directly onto the surface of one or more teeth. To prepare a tooth for Bioclear, all Dr. Robinson needs to do is remove bacteria from its surface—he doesn’t need to remove any of your natural tooth structure! This makes the treatment completely reversible and incredibly easy to repair or replace if you need to. Like veneers, Bioclear is carefully shaped, buffed, and tinted to fit into your smile. It also has a similar lifespan to veneers, lasting around 10 years if you take care of them with a thorough oral hygiene routine. Best of all, Bioclear can be completed in a single visit!
4. Botox
Botox is an incredibly common and well-known treatment that’s used in medical and cosmetic treatments—including dentistry.Botox works by blocking the signals from nerves that tell muscles to contract, causing these muscles to relax. When small doses are injected into specific muscles and nerves, Botox can help you look younger by smoothing out the skin and erasing wrinkles around and beside your eyes, around your lips, and on your forehead. It can also be used to fill out your lips or lower your lip line to minimize the appearance of toothy or gummy smiles, which is when your smile reveals a higher than average proportion of teeth or gums.
The use of Botox goes beyond cosmetic dentistry, though, as your dentist can also apply it to relieve tension and pain caused by migraines, TMD, or bruxism. Depending on your treatment, Botox can last anywhere between one and six months, but it’s surprisingly wide range of uses can help you look and feel better.
5. Dental Implants
Losing a tooth impacts the function and appearance of your teeth on multiple levels. Dental implants are the best method for restoring the health, function, and beauty of your smile, making them so much more than a simple cosmetic treatment—they’re also restorative. An implant consists of a titanium metal “root” that’s embedded into your jawbone just like a natural tooth root before being fitted with a dental crown. Two or more implants can be fitted with a bridge or dentures to restore multiple missing teeth. Since they’re rooted so deeply into your jaw, dental implants feel and function like natural teeth, including carrying out the job of a tooth root to protect your jaw from bone loss.
Getting dental implants is a long process that’s generally carried out through multiple appointments over the course of several months. While dental implants are in many ways a restorative treatment, they’re often considered cosmetic by insurance companies. This impacts how different insurance companies cover implants, so it’s always wise to check your insurance company’s policy when you’re considering this treatment. Regardless, dental implants are the best tooth replacement treatment and have the potential to last a lifetime with proper care, making them a worthwhile investment for many patients. Whether you want to revitalize your smile with small changes or completely transform it, the goal of cosmetic dentistry procedures is to help you feel more comfortable and confident in your own skin. These treatments are popular because they can do just that, giving you a smile that’s both healthy and beautiful. If you need a dentist near Anchorage, AK, and are interested in learning more about how these treatments may benefit you, feel free to call our office and schedule a consultation at any time.