Digital Smile Design
Smile Design is used by top dentists and dental technicians all over the world. The revolutionary technology has allowed us to understand the relationship between a patient’s teeth, gums, lips, facial features, and smile. Digital smile design gives us a highly customized treatment plan that is tailored with the patient’s physical attributes as well as personality in mind. The procedure includes an assessment of a patient’s preoperative features. using photographs, impressions, and dental X-rays. Then the software analyses the patient’s requirements to fabricate a treatment plan, a mockup, and a post-operative preview.
The procedure is generally pain-free and completely personalized. It includes a combination of gum contouring, lip repositioning, orthodontics, veneers, crowns, etc.
Dental Veneers
Veneers are extremely thin shells of medical-grade composites or porcelain that are bonded to the front surface of a patient’s teeth. They are permanent, relatively quick, and easy cosmetic treatments used to conceal many types of dental imperfections like discoloured, worn down, chipped, malaligned, spaced, and unevenly shaped teeth to give you that million-dollar smile. Composite veneers are made chairside, while porcelain veneers are a multi-step procedure. After careful assessment using photographs, study models, and dental X-rays, the dentist prepared the teeth to place a temporary restoration. After 1-2 weeks, lab-made final restorations are bonded. These preparations are superior as they preserve the most amount of tooth structure, enhance the appearance of teeth, cause no irritation, and are well accepted by gums. Irrespective of substantial strength, veneers do crack in the cases of pen chewers, nail biters, areca nut chewers, night grinders, etc.
Additionally, patients with extensive decay and poor oral hygiene are considered poor candidates for veneers. Brushing twice daily, flossing, keeping habits in check, and wearing a night guard are great ways of protecting your veneers.
Teeth Whitening
Getting those pearly white teeth is now easier than ever. Our in-office teeth whitening is a spa-like procedure that offers shiny, bright teeth in 60 minutes. The whitening agent, when applied to teeth, combines with oxygen from the air and carbon from the teeth to break apart the staining molecules stuck on the teeth, making the colour less concentrated and resulting in a lighter shade. Results of whitening vary from patient to patient and depending on the type of stain. Yellowish-brown stains are easily removed, while dental fluorosis requires a slightly more extensive approach. Teeth whitening is a multi-step procedure. After cleaning and removing all the plaque and tartar, a gingival protection barrier is applied to the gums. The whitening paste is applied on the front surface of the teeth and cured using a UV light or laser. Teeth whitening may cause temporary sensitivity. Discuss with your dentist about ways to avoid it. Obtaining whitening from a licensed dental professional guarantees no damage to the enamel and gums.
To achieve the best results, patients must refrain from smoking and avoid eating foods and drinks that impart colour and stain the teeth for 48-72 hours.
Gummy Smile Correction
A ‘gummy smile’ is a smile that shows an excessive amount of gums under the upper lip and has a noticeably disproportionate gum to tooth ratio. Usually the correction involves a lip-lowering surgery along with gingival contouring and crown lengthening to expose more tooth surface.
Lip lowering surgery, also known as lip repositioning, covers the additional gum and makes the upper lip look fuller and more attractive. Gummy smile treatments are quick, less invasive, and more affordable compared to orthognathic surgery. Some patients prefer a slightly temporary solution using BOTOX, which relaxes the muscle of the upper lip to minimize the display of gums. BTX-A has a life span of 5 months, after which botox gradually wears off. Hyaluronic acid injection, similar to botox, works by restricting hyperactive movements in the muscle of the upper lip.
The effects last up to 8 months.Case selection, patient education, and having realistic expectations are extremely important factors to achieve satisfying results.
Depigmentation
Also known as "laser gum depigmentation," this is an effective and completely painless method to remove dark spots and areas of the gums. It lightens the gums and requires very little recovery time.
Gingival hyperpigmentation, or dark gums, results from excess melanin in the surface layer. It's common in people with naturally dark skin tones. Cigarette smoking tends to increase melanin production, creating dark patches on the gums. Lasers damage the melanin-producing cells. These dead cells get naturally removed by the body, leaving healthy pink gums.
The duration of the treatment is specific to the patient and may require multiple appointments, depending on the pigmentation.
Patients are able to resume their normal lives after the procedure with minimal precautions required. There are no known complications to the laser gum depigmentation procedure.