Aesthetic (restorative) dentistry

Enhancement of your appearance

Cosmetic dentistry is a way of improving your appearance and the solution for those who are not satisfied with the shape, colour or position of their teeth. Many people still refrain from seeking cosmetic dental treatment, because they are afraid to see a dentist, think the treatment is very expensive, or just because they do not know what solutions are available.

Available to everyone

Aesthetic dentistry that can give you ‘pearly white teeth’ and a ‘radiant smile’ is no longer just for the rich and famous. On the contrary. There have been revolutionary developments in this branch of dentistry over the past few years, resulting in all kinds of techniques that make this type of dentistry available and affordable to everyone. Furthermore, you no longer need to undergo painful treatments to restore your self-confidence and be able to smile again.

Radiant smile

The most common techniques and solutions in aesthetic dentistry not only include placing (metal-free) ceramic crowns and facings, but also gum correction, replacing grey (amalgam) fillings by white fillings and tooth bleaching. These solutions are now part of our day-to-day work. Of course we also pay attention to the functional aspects of your teeth in aesthetic dentistry. You are thus always assured of the best result.

We will be more than happy to discuss all options with you.
 

Crowns and bridges

A crown or bridge may be the best solution if you are missing a large part of your tooth or if fillings would become too large to protect a tooth against breaks, for example, after a root canal treatment. But they can also help to improve your dental function or appearance. For example, if your teeth are very irregular and/or strongly discoloured. 

A crown is a cap that is fitted over a ground down natural tooth and rests on the root of that natural tooth. Crowns can be made of various materials. It can be made completely of gold or a combination of gold (or another material) and a layer of tooth-coloured porcelain over it. These materials have been used for quite some time now. However, there have been new developments in dental techniques, so that it is also possible today to create full porcelain and (metal-free) zirconium crowns. A zirconium-based porcelain crown is the latest development.  

Thanks to their zirconium core, these crowns are very strong and hardwearing. As porcelain and zirconium are both translucent materials, these crowns look very natural and can hardly be distinguished from natural teeth. That is why they are particularly used in the aesthetic (visible) area.

Zirconium crowns are made using a CAD-CAM system and are individually finished by hand in the lab. The shape, colour and position can be adjusted to suit your wishes.

We will be happy to tell you more about these options and the best solutions in your situation. 

Facings

A facing is a tooth-coloured composite filling material or small porcelain shield. Facings are glued to the front of the teeth to change their colour, form and position, and improve your appearance. The procedure is entirely painless. Facings can also be used to fill gaps between teeth, repair broken-off corners, make yellow or brown teeth white again and mask crooked teeth.  

Price

The price of facings depends on the material used. The price of composite facings is considerably lower than that of porcelain facings. However, porcelain facings remain beautiful for a much longer period and are less sensitive to tartar than composite facings.

For composite facings, we usually need to grind off less of your teeth. They also produce direct result, because composite facings are applied in one go while you sit in the chair. We can then adjust colours and shapes on the spot.

Porcelain facings, on the other hand, are made (indirectly) in a dental lab. They also require that you visit our practice twice. This partly explains why porcelain facings are more expensive. 

The colour of porcelain facings is determined using colour samples. After the tooth has been ground down, we make an impression of the tooth that is sent to the lab, where the facings are baked in the desired shape. The facings are then placed during a second treatment at our practice. If it turns out that the shape or colour of the facing is not right, an entirely new facing will need to be made in the lab.

We will of course discuss with you which type of facing is most suitable in your situation. 

Comment

In some cases it is not possible to place facings, for example if teeth require substantial restoration. A ceramic crown will then be a better solution. This type of crown looks just like a natural tooth. Again, we will be able to adjust the shape, colour and position in accordance with your wishes.

Fillings

We use various types of fillings at our practice, not only composite fillings (white fillings), but also glass-ionomer fillings (as temporary restoration material, for example during root canal treatment). 

Composite fillings consist of synthetic resin, a binding agent and a non-organic filler such as glass. These fillings do not contain any metal, and are strong and long lasting. They have become popular over the past few years because of their fine aesthetic characteristics. White fillings are, for example, hardly visible. 

We use composite materials of the best quality, including nanocomposites, the newest development in this field. We often also use a combination of different types of composites to achieve a perfect transition between filling and tooth structure. As a result, you will experience hardly any after pain. As we exclusively use top quality, you are assured of a beautiful and long lasting result.

Bleaching

The colour of your teeth is a hereditary characteristic, but can change due to various influences (e.g. coffee, nicotine) and causes (including ageing). They usually get darker. Bleaching makes your teeth a few shades lighter. 

External bleaching of living teeth

There are various external bleaching methods. You can have it done at our practice, but you can also do it yourself at home. We actually prefer the home bleaching method. In most cases, this is a more controlled and less aggressive method. No matter which of the two options you choose, the final result is the same. If the white colour is fading slightly after some time, you can simply use home bleaching to brighten it up again.

Internal bleaching of dead teeth

After root canal treatment, the canal filling may be visible through the tooth above and, consequently, the tooth may look darker. In that case we can enclose bleaching gel for a certain period (e.g. a week). This will make the tooth look brighter again. Sometimes it will be necessary to apply another amount of bleaching gel and repeat the process until the desired result is achieved. After removal of the bleaching gel, the new permanent filling will then be inserted.