Enhance Your Smile with Cosmetic Dentistry in Grand Rapids
When your smile doesn’t look the way you want it to, smiling openly becomes difficult to do. Fortunately, cosmetic dentistry has the answer you’re looking for.
At Kent Family Dental, our team of exceptional dentists, helps patients across Grand Rapids enhance their smiles through customized cosmetic services. We combine extensive dental training with artistry to create smiles that are unique, flattering, and matching your ideal smile.
Why spend another day with a smile you don’t love? Contact our office to take the next step toward a new smile today!
CALL US: (616) 364-9348 REQUEST APPOINTMENT
7 Benefits of Cosmetic Dentistry
Cosmetic dentistry can address practically any imperfection you find in your smile, providing you with a broad range of benefits. Choosing to enhance your smile isn’t simply about vanity – it can have positive effects on yourself and the world around you.
Here are seven benefits for you to enjoy from custom cosmetic treatment.
- A Better Mood – Feeling confident about your smile makes smiling easier, and smiling more often helps to improve your general mood.
- A Positive Environment – Smiling frequently encourages people around you to do the same!
- Stronger Relationships – People respond to a confident smile by wanting to be around the person more. Smiling more often can encourage better communication between you and those around you.
- Opportunity for Success – Added confidence in your smile can also boost your self-esteem, focus, and determination. This can pave the way to greater social and career success.
- Improved Overall Health – Several cosmetic enhancements can improve your health by correcting bite issues and protecting teeth from decay. This results in less pain, better function, and healthier teeth, all of which are important for your overall health.
- A Longer Lifespan – Your physical and emotional health are huge factors in your longevity, and a great smile positively affects both! Good self-esteem means less stress and promotes a longer, more fulfilling life.
- Aesthetic Appeal – With the right cosmetics, you can enjoy a smile that flatters your features and reflects the inner you.
Cosmetic Services We Offer
Our dentists have the skill and experience to deliver high-quality cosmetics to our patients, helping them achieve their ideal smile. Ask us about the following cosmetic dental services:
Positive Smiles with Porcelain Veneers
Few cosmetic options are as versatile as veneers. Porcelain is shaped into thin, tooth-shaped shells designed to bond to the front surfaces of your teeth, carefully concealing any imperfections. Everything from chipped teeth, to gaps, and worn teeth, to stains, can be easily enhanced with the help of custom veneers!
How Veneers Transform Your Smile
First, the dentist evaluates what you want to change about your smile, whether you are unsatisfied with the color, shape, or alignment of your teeth.
If veneers are selected, the dentist will determine how many teeth should be covered. Veneers are typically used on any of the front six teeth on the top or bottom jaws, since they are most visible and don’t have the same chewing pressure as molars.
Once the plan is complete, the dentist designs your custom veneers. Each veneer is shaped and shaded to look like a real tooth and fit naturally into your smile. Porcelain is an ideal material because of its tooth-like luster and translucence, allowing it to blend in seamlessly for greater results.
When the veneers are ready, the dentist removes a thin layer of enamel to place the veneers, ensuring they are firmly attached and don’t look bulky. Once in place, your veneers are now part of your smile, ready for you to enjoy!
Do Veneers Feel Like Real Teeth?
Absolutely! Veneers are designed to be thin and to fit snugly over the tooth, making them a comfortable cover. While you will likely notice a difference at first, over time, most people forget they’re even wearing veneers as they become a natural part of their smile.
How Long Do Veneers Last?
Veneers are securely bonded to your teeth, and if well cared for, they can last several years. On average, veneers last ten years or more. Once a veneer fails, it will need to be replaced to ensure a healthy and uniform smile.
To ensure your veneers last as long as possible, keep these simple tips in mind:
- Don’t bite hard things (like nuts, hard candy, or ice cubes) with your front teeth.
- Don’t use your teeth to cut, rip, or bite non-food items.
- Avoid biting your nails.
- If you grind your teeth, wear a mouth guard as instructed.
- Use a soft-bristled toothbrush to avoid scratches.
Professional Teeth Whitening for Dazzling Results
Few things can affect a smile like stained enamel, a common problem for many adults. Our office provides professional teeth whitening to help you eliminate stubborn stains and reveal your beautiful natural enamel. Whether you have an important upcoming event, or you simply want to smile with more confidence, a single office visit could make a dramatic difference for your smile!
In-Office, or Take-Home?
We offer our patients the convenience and flexibility of choosing between our teeth whitening in our office and our custom take-home kits. Both options provide noticeable results, allowing patients to choose the option that suits them best.
In-office whitening typically takes about an hour to complete. The dentist or hygienist applies a professional-strength whitening gel in three fifteen minute sessions, with short breaks between applications. You’ll be able to see the whitening results by comparing your teeth to a color chart before and after treatment.
Take-home whitening is a great option for those whose schedules make long office visits difficult. We take impressions of the patient’s mouth to create a custom whitening tray, ensuring that the results are even across their entire smile. With your take-home kit, you can whiten when and where it’s most convenient for you.
How Effective is Teeth Whitening?
Teeth whitening can brighten your smile by up to eight shades, depending on the level of staining.
Whitening doesn’t change the color of your teeth. Instead, it removes stains that have built up and reveals the natural color underneath.
If you prefer your teeth to be even whiter, ask the dentist if an alternative option, such as veneers, may be a better choice for you.
Is it Safe to Whiten Your Teeth?
Most patients can whiten their teeth without any difficulties. The most common side effect is mild tooth sensitivity. Our dental professionals take great care to protect your gums from exposure and not to leave the gel on for prolonged periods, which helps to minimize sensitivity. If your teeth are sensitive, it should go away within a day or two.
Teeth whitening may not be an ideal choice for people with thin enamel. Talk to the dentist if you are unsure whether teeth whitening is right for you.
5 Tips for Keeping Your Teeth White and Beautiful
After your whitening treatment, you want your results to last as long as possible. Here are five things you can do to keep your smile bright.
- Brush your teeth twice a day.
- Limit staining foods and drinks (coffee, soda, red wine, dark berries, tomato sauce).
- Avoid smoking and tobacco use.
- Drink water after meals.
- Get a dental cleaning every six months.
What if My Smile Needs Repairing?
A healthy smile is also an attractive smile. If you have cavities or other health issues with your smile, the right treatment can make a world of difference for your health and smile aesthetics. Fortunately, many restorative options today also strive to preserve your smile’s cosmetic appeal.
We provide various cosmetic restorations, such as white fillings and porcelain crowns and bridges. If your smile needs repair, we can help it look and feel great again!
Composite Fillings – Strong and Discreet
Many patients today choose composite fillings to protect their teeth after treating a cavity. Made of tooth-colored composite resin, these fillings bond to the enamel and can be shaped into small spaces, allowing the dentist to preserve more of your natural enamel.
Each filling is carefully matched to the tooth around it, blending in for discreet protection.
Porcelain Crowns and Bridges
Like veneers, porcelain is an exceptional material for making effective and beautiful crowns and bridges. Crowns can be used to protect and reshape a tooth that is broken, decayed, or worn. If a tooth has been lost, a fixed bridge provides a functional and beautiful replacement.
Each restoration is custom-made to look and feel natural in your smile, allowing you to smile confidently.
Invisalign® Treatment in Grand Rapids for a Straighter, Healthier Smile
Kent Family Dental offers the Invisalign clear aligner system for a discreet, comfortable solution to straighten your teeth. Crooked, misaligned teeth can make you feel self-conscious about your smile and prevent you from achieving optimal oral health. When teeth are too close together, it can make cleaning your teeth properly a challenge. Food particles can get caught in between teeth and cause harmful bacteria to grow, which in turn leads to decay.
With Invisalign you can get a straight smile in as little as 12 to 18 months. The clear custom trays are made of comfortable plastic and easily removable for brushing and flossing, or if you have a special occasion or important interview. Every two weeks, you will receive a new set of aligners designed to move your teeth into the correct position gradually. You can remove them to eat and drink; however, you do need to wear them a minimum of 22 hours a day for optimal results. For more information on this popular cosmetic treatment, click here or give our team a call.
Your Smile is Our Passion!
At Kent Family Dental in Grand Rapids, we love helping you achieve a unique and flattering smile. Our dentists get to know each patient as an individual so that we can be sure your results match your personal smile goals.
Ready to find your best smile? Schedule a cosmetic consultation today to get started!
CALL US: (616) 364-9348 REQUEST APPOINTMENT