Bellevue Cosmetic Dentist Porcelain Veneers

Bellevue Dentist Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain Veneers showing before and after creation of a new Beautiful Smile!

Bellevue Porcelain Veneers are also called dental veneers,porcelain veneers or dental porcelain laminates. They are one of cosmetic dentistry's more recent and successful developments. They are wafer-thin shells of porcelain which are bonded onto the front side of teeth and also cover the biting edge of the teeth. They can be an excellent cosmetic dental solution for a variety of problems including teeth that are stained, chipped, or slightly misaligned.

Porcelain Veneers are used for extreme makeovers in cosmetic dentistry everyday. Porcelain veneers are used to close gaps in teeth, fix chipped teeth, improve a gummy smile, lengthen short teeth, and generally improve your overall smile. Many Hollywood stars have porcelain veneers rather than traditional teeth whitening methods, because you can choose the shade and amount of whiteness that you want and they are resistant to staining. Bellevue Porcelain Veneers uses an on-site porcelain artist that will give you the whitest smile imaginable.

Porcelain Veneers Become Available

Bellevue Porcelain Veneers are the most recent application of the art and science of cosmetic dental bonding. For decades dentists have had available materials which can bond to tooth enamel. The porcelain veneer technique utilizes the bonding capabilities of these materials to securely attach a thin sheet of porcelain (the porcelain veneer) to an individual tooth. These veneers are attached so that they cover the front and the biting surfaces of the tooth that has the veneer. Although porcelain is inherently brittle, when it is firmly bonded to a sturdy substructure (a tooth) it becomes very strong and durable.

Porcelain Veneer Advantages

Two of the greatest advantages of porcelain veneers over other types of cosmetic dental bonding are:

A) Bellevue Cosmetic Porcelain Veneers create a very life-like tooth appearance.

You might be surprised to learn that a major component of teeth is enamel, but teeth are not solid enamel. The enamel component of a tooth is actually only an outer shell. It is this cosmetic veneer that then becomes the permanent tooth covering shell. This veneer covering is not susceptible to dental decay.

B) Porcelain veneers resist staining.

Cosmetic dental bonding materials utilized in the past had the shortcoming of being susceptible to staining and discoloring. This was especially severe problem for people whose teeth had excessive exposure to tea, coffee, red wine, or cigarette smoking.

A significant advantage of porcelain veneers over other types of cosmetic dental bonding is related to the fact that a porcelain veneer's surface is just that, porcelain. Since porcelain is a ceramic, or glass-like, its surface is extremely smooth and impervious so it will not pick up permanent stains.

Porcelain Veneers Additional Advantages

Porcelain veneers or porcelain laminates from your Bellevue Cosmetic Dentist can often be an effective method by which to make cosmetic changes to teeth that are chipped, worn, stained, crooked, or discolored. Please note that individual case selection is an extremely important factor in the success of this technique. Porcelain veneers cannot be utilized in every situation.

It is not always necessary to use these veneers on all of your teeth to obtain a beautiful smile. In some cases as many as 10 porcelain veneers may be needed. However, beautiful smiles can be accomplished with 4, 6 or 8 veneers. And in some cases only 1, 2 or 3 veneers maybe needed. At our Bellevue Dentistry office we have done many cases ranging from a single veneer to 10 veneers.

Only an examination by your cosmetic dentist can determine if porcelain veneers are an appropriate method by which to make the changes you desire. Even if porcelain veneers are not appropriate for your circumstances, your cosmetic dentist will most likely be able to suggest other treatment options that will yield suitable results.

One property of tooth enamel covering is that it's translucent. This means that when light strikes a tooth's surface it is not immediately reflected off, but instead penetrates into the thickness of the enamel. This light will subsequently be reflected off the non-translucent tooth structure beneath the enamel. This property of translucency is an important part of what gives teeth their characteristic appearance. Your Bellevue Cosmetic Dentist working with their porcelain artist will create this translucence in your porcelain veneers. This will translate into a strikingly beautiful smile.

Historically the cosmetic dental bonding materials dentists have had available to them were only semi-translucent. This means that most of the light striking the tooth did not penetrate into the bonding layer but instead was reflected off the bonded outer surface. The net result was that while the bonding did give the tooth an improved appearance, there was no sense of a tooth's characteristic translucency and ultimate beauty. Light striking a porcelain veneer will penetrate its thickness, and then subsequently be reflected back out once it has reached the opaque cement and tooth structure lying underneath the veneer. This translucency effect provides a sense of depth, and thus a very life-like appearance.

Porcelain Veneers Smiles

Patients usually need three appointments for the entire procedure when a porcelain artist is working with the cosmetic dentist: diagnosis and treatment planning, preparation, and bonding.

Diagnosis and treatment planning: It's critical that you take an active role in the smile design. Spend time in the decision-making and planning of your smile. Be sure that you understand the corrective limitations of the procedure. Have more than one consultation, if necessary, to feel comfortable that your dentist understands your objectives. See our previous article on how to choose a cosmetic dentist.

Preparation of teeth: This appointment will take two or more hours depending upon how many teeth are going have veneers on them. To prepare the teeth for the porcelain veneers, the teeth are lightly buffed to allow for the small added thickness of the veneer. Usually, about a half a millimeter of the tooth is removed, which may require a local anesthetic. At this appointment, a mold is taken of the teeth, which is sent to a porcelain artist for the fabrication of the veneers. This can take about one to two weeks. Because the teeth are unsightly at this time, temporary veneers are placed over the prepared teeth. Bellevue Cosmetic Dentist temporary veneers will be of the highest quality and appearance and are included without any additional cost.

Porcelain Veneer Bonding: This appointment will take about one or three hours usually depending again upon the number of teeth receiving Porcelain Veneers from your Bellevue Dentist. First, the dentist places the veneers with water or glycerine on the teeth to check their fit and get a sense of the shade or color. While the veneers are resting on your teeth, view the esthetic results, and pay particular attention to the color. At this point, the color of the veneers can still be adjusted with the shade of the cement to be used. The color cannot be altered after veneers are cemented. To apply the veneer, the tooth is cleansed with specific chemicals to achieve a bond. Once a special light sensitive cement is placed between the veneer and tooth, and a visible light beam catalyzes the hardening of the cement.

Porcelain Veneer Maintenance

For about a week or two, you will go through a period of adjustment as you get used to your beautiful "new" teeth that have been changed in size and shape. Brush and floss daily. After one or two weeks, you'll return for a follow-up appointment for any final adjustments. Bellevue Dentists, Dr Cynthia Pauley and Dr Patricia Pauley, recommend the use of a night guard when you are sleeping to protect your beautiful new investment because about 80% of all people either grind or clench their teeth during the night while sleeping.

BELLEVUE COSMETIC DENTIST MAKES SMILE SHOW

BELLEVUE COSMETIC DENTIST MAKES SLIDE SHOW

Bellevue Cosmetic Dentistry Slide Video Collage of some of our recent Cosmetic Dental patients with their beautiful smiles. The Bellevue Dentists at Brookside Dental recently put together a short two minute video collage of some recent patient smiles because we are very proud of the work that we have done and the many smiles that we have enhanced. The video represents various techniques performed to create or enhance beautiful new smiles. Each person in the slide show has a beautiful end result exhibited that was created with different types of Cosmetic Dentistry in each situation. The work includes extensive restoration with all porcelain crowns and porcelain veneers as well as tooth colored fillings and tooth colored dental bonding. Several cases involve cosmetic movement of a few teeth to give perfectly aligned smiles. Most cosmetic dental smile alterations and creations involve some type of tooth whitening in addition to the other cosmetic dentistry work that is done.

This is our second video about our Bellevue Dentist Office. The first was produced by the NBC Today Show, which featured our Bellevue Dental facility along with a New York Dental Office as examples of Cosmetic Dentistry Spas and how dentistry has evolved to include many amenities other than just fixing routine tooth cavities.

Cynthia Pauley DDS and Patricia Pauley DDS are available for cosmetic and family dentistry in Bellevue, WA. Dr Cindy has been selected by Seattle Magazine as one of the Top-10 cosmetic dentists in the Seattle area. Recently, both Dr Pat and Dr Cindy have been elected to the Pierre Fauchard Academy for their outstanding dental work.

How to Chose a Cosmetic Dentist

Actual Patient Brookside Dental

HOW TO FIND AND SELECT A COSMETIC DENTIST

Cosmetic Dentist Location

The number of dentists in the United States and many other parts of the world that are offering cosmetic dental procedures is increasing all the time. Cosmetic Dentistry includes a large variety of procedures and techniques that are used individually and in various combinations for the purpose of enhancing, altering or completely changing your smile. The later is often called an extreme makeover smile.

Finding a Cosmetic Dentist

Finding a qualified cosmetic dentist requires careful consideration and caution, because Cosmetic Dentistry is not a recognized specialty of American Dental Association. Therefore, there is no neutral referral system in place or third party insurance administrator involvement to assist with the selection of a cosmetic dentist. In general, most cosmetic dental procedures are not covered by any dental insurance plans. However, if a restorative procedure is needed on a single tooth, which is part of a cosmetic process, dental insurance may pay a portion of the restorative work done on that single tooth. A wide variety of cosmetic dental procedures are available depending upon the condition of your teeth and gums. Keep in mind that consultations with multiple cosmetic dentists will most likely yield several variations and differences of opinions on how you can obtain a beautiful new smile.

Cosmetic Dentist Referrals

Your general dentist may give you a referral to a qualified cosmetic dentist, assuming he or she does not do extensive cosmetic work. There are organizations and referral agencies that can suggest a “cosmetic dentist” for you. There are several well-known cosmetic dental training groups and organizations that keep lists of qualified dentists. However, keep in mind that these groups and organizations usually only recommend dentists that have taken ALL of their specific courses or that have paid them an advertising fee. For example, if a dentist takes advanced training in cosmetic dentistry with several different groups, they may not be listed with any of the groups, even though they are highly qualified to do excellent cosmetic dentistry. It is important for you to investigate the level of cosmetic dentistry experience that each cosmetic dentist has attained either before or during a consultation appointment. Bellevue Cosmetic Dentists, Dr Cynthia Pauley and Dr Patricia Pauley, both have had extensive advanced training in various cosmetic dentistry techniques at several different facilities, including the Las Vegas Institute (LVI). Look at the websites of cosmetic dentists in your area. Their websites will usually list their credentials, honors and awards, as well as exhibited examples of their cosmetic dental work, including before and after photographs of their cosmetic dentistry. Additionally, their websites should also list the various types of procedures that they do and those in which they specialize. Ask your friends, neighbors, and business associates that have undergone any type of smile enhancement, smile change or smile makeover what dentist that they would recommend. A personal referral from a happy friend or associate is probably the best referral source that you can have. During your phone inquiries, ask whether or not if the dentist does amalgam (silver) fillings, because cosmetic dentists do not do these—they only do composite (tooth colored) fillings.

Cosmetic Dentist Consultation

Ask the dentist what types of advanced courses they have taken in cosmetic dentistry. You will want to see photographic examples of both before and after work that they have performed using various procedures and techniques. Other criteria for determining if a cosmetic dentist is the right one for you would include how long the dentist has been doing dentistry and in particular how long they have been doing cosmetic dentistry. Keep in mind that your individual results may vary depending upon the skill level of the dentist. You must decide if you like the results shown in before and after photos of previous patients. Ask the dentist if the photos are of actual patients that the dentist has treated and ask what particular procedure or procedures were done on the patients that you are viewing. Find out what dental technologies are used in the practice and what patient comforts are provided. Headphones with music and movie glasses are especially nice for long procedures lasting two hours or more. Through all of this, a very important thing is your perception and feelings toward the dentist and the work presented, so that you will have confidence in the treatment process and that it will be an anxiety-free experience. If possible, try to assess how staff members interact and what type of overall ambience is present in the office. These two things will have a bearing on how well you will be treated and cared for during and after completion of your cosmetic dental procedures and smile changes. At Brookside Dental, Bellevue, WA, we hire people for their ability to work together with each other as well as their technical skills. This is something that is very noticeable to patients when they visit our office—many of them comment on how friendly and helpful the staff members are.

At your initial consultation, you should discuss what you like and don’t like about your smile. This is the time for you and the cosmetic dentist to establish realistic expectations for your cosmetic dental treatment. Some patients may have unrealistic expectations and this needs to be addressed. Cosmetic dentistry consultations should involve a comprehensive dental examination that may include intra-oral photos and x-ray evaluation. These are important to create a unique and precise cosmetic dental treatment plan that will satisfy the patient’s needs and meet realistic expectations. Since a significant amount of time may be spent for this purpose, the dentist may charge you a small consultation fee, which should be applied to any work that you have done.

You may also meet with the practice’s office manager to discuss the types of financing or payment options available to help you manage the cost of your cosmetic dentistry treatment — as mentioned previously, dental insurance does not typically provide coverage for cosmetic treatment. If not, ask what financing options are available through either a dental loan provider or as an in-house payment option that your cosmetic dentist may provide. Find out if the treatment can be done in phases and if it can be then, which phase the is most important. Always ask if the work is guaranteed. Any good cosmetic dentist should be willing to guarantee their work for a reasonable period of time against “normal wear and tear” without a lot of caveats. Many cosmetic dentists will not offer a guarantee unless the patient agrees to have ALL the work done that the doctor indicates should be done. Be very careful in evaluating this, because often all recommended work is not always necessary to obtain a beautiful smile. Because some people have budget constraints, there is a trade off between getting a nice smile and a stunningly beautiful smile. The patient must make this final evaluation, but be realistic in what you expect for the dollars you can spend–this is why multiple consultations are valuable. In our office at Brookside Dental, Bellevue, WA, if we do any work, that work done is guaranteed even if the patient did not get all the work done that we felt would give the maximum result.

Cosmetic Dental Treatment Plan

The patient should be given a treatment plan at the time of the consultation, including a detailed cost breakdown. Your treatment options should be understood and you should feel comfortable with the detail and inclusiveness of the treatment plan given to you. Be sure to ask about expected longevity of the final results and what maintenance may be required in order to maintain the benefit of your smile changes. For example, to protect veneers, you may need to wear a protective mouth guard at night to help prevent them from chipping or cracking. Bleaching of your teeth, commonly called tooth whitening, may have to be repeated on a regular basis — depending upon the procedure used to get your teeth white. A night guard is something that we often recommend to protect veneers.

When crowns, bridges, porcelain veneers, or dental implants are used in your smile makeover, a dental laboratory will be involved in your smile restoration. Find out how long the dentist has worked with the lab he or she uses. Also find out if the same porcelain technician always does his or her cases—this gives continuity and reliability to the work. It is preferable that the dentist has a long-term working relationship with this laboratory and they have done similar cases to the one you will be having done. An on-site porcelain artist is ideal to deal with any color or shade questions immediately. However, most dentists do not have on-site porcelain artists and must ship their work out to a laboratory, often in another state. In our office at Brookside Dental, Bellevue, WA, we have an onsite porcelain artist that we have worked with for over 15 years who is a master craftsman at fashioning all porcelain veneers and crowns. Any minor adjusts can be made onsite for the convenience of the patient.

Cosmetic Dentist Final Selection

When you select a cosmetic dentist, you are selecting a dental professional who will help you change your appearance by changing the look of your teeth and your smile. It is a very personal and important choice. Most cosmetic dental procedures are not reversible, so you will want to take your time, ensure that you feel comfortable with the dentist, and that you feel confident with his/her skills and capabilities. When you do, you will likely be happy and completely satisfied with the results that are achieved with the cosmetic dentistry treatment you receive.

If there are any complications during a cosmetic dentistry procedure, an experienced cosmetic dentist will be more adept at handling the situation. In addition, a cosmetic dentist who has performed many complicated dental procedures will have had more time to perfect his or her technique and results. Cosmetic dentistry treatments like dental veneers and bonding require an artistic touch to produce the most attractive and natural-looking results. Choosing the best possible cosmetic dentist near you requires evaluation of many things. When you plan cosmetic dental work to enhance, alter, or change your smile, it is important that you choose a qualified and experienced cosmetic dentist. Cosmetic dentists who have performed numerous complicated dental procedures will have had more time to perfect their techniques. Cosmetic treatments like porcelain veneers, tooth-colored fillings, and crowns on dental implants require an artistic touch as well as superior technical ability to produce the most attractive and natural-looking results.

The following guidelines may help you find a qualified cosmetic dentist in your area:

·Verify the dentist’s dental education through your state’s certification board or the American Dental Association.
·Look for a dentist who has received specialized training in the field of cosmetic dentistry.
·Find a dentist who has made cosmetic dentistry a major part of his or her practice.
·Learn about his or her qualifications and experience by requesting this information at the time you talk to the office manager.
·Visit the practice’s website for the dentist’s qualifications, before and after case information and office ambience.
·Look at before and after pictures of previous patients with various procedures.
·Find out how long and under what parameters the restorative work is guaranteed.
·Make sure the dentist is licensed to practice in your state and that they have not had any disciplinary actions brought against them.
·Check their standing and membership with the Better Business Bureau.

Bellevue Cosmetic Dentists, Dr Cynthia Pauley and Dr Patricia Pauley, were featured in “Doctor of Dentistry” 2008. You can www.brooksidedental.com for additional information on Cosmetic Dentistry.