Cosmetic Makeovers - Show and Tell - Cosmetic Dentistry

Gap Teeth as the Latest Beauty Trend?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:22:50 -0700

Are gap teeth the latest beauty world obsession? According to this article they are.

Both Chanel and British cosmetic giant Rimmel have just signed glaringly gap-toothed girls as the faces of their newest campaigns: Georgia Jagger, Mick's teenage daughter, replaces Kate Moss at Rimmel, and French actress Vanessa Paradis will be the "smile" behind Chanel's new line of lipstick, Rouge Coco de Chanel.

Young Ms. Jagger also flashes her adorable pearly goal posts in this month's British Vogue. Paradis' appeared recently on the cover of Vogue Paris.

...If you need further proof that the stars have aligned for the gap-toothed trend, consider the following headline makers with space-invaded smiles: True Blood actress Anna Paquin and model Lara Stone -- named "most wanted face of the moment" in August's W magazine and whose ID magazine cover with the tag line "Yes I think I'm sexy" is already une reference absolue in current fashion magazine circles. There's also Amy Winehouse and Madonna...

Porcelain Veneers Turning Yellow

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:07:44 -0600

One of the advantages of porcelain veneers is that they are not supposed to stain or turn yellow. But after 15 years Erik is experiencing yellowing veneers. He asks this question in a dentistry forum;

I had six porcelain veneers done about 15 years ago in the states and very recently I have noticed that two of my porcelain veneers are turning yellow around the edges. I asked my hygienist to remove the stains and she tried but could not remove most of these yellow stains on my veneers.

Could you tell me how I can have these stains removed? Is it the case that those veneers will have to be replaced or can the stains be removed without removal of the veneers?

If I have to have the veneers replaced, how quickly will the new ones be made? What will I have on my teeth whilst I wait for the new veneers to be made?

His question hasn't been answered yet. Could a cosmetic dentist please answer him here?

A Dental Face Lift

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:16:31 -0600

A Los Angeles cosmetic dentist, Dr. Sam Muslim, has some great before and after photos on his website of people who have benefited from his 'face lift dentistry'.

As we age our teeth often wear down. This can alter the shape of our face and can cause bite and facial collapse. When the teeth get shorter our face often gets shorter too and this can increase the appearance of facial wrinkles and can make our lips look thinner.

Dr. Muslim says that 10 to 20 years can be removed from a persons facial appearance with the appropriate cosmetic dental work. Check out his before and after pics here.

Free Tips for Better Teeth

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:51:08 -0600

Reader's Digest has a great article about 50 Dentist Secrets. They asked 22 dentists to tell us what they're really thinking as they peer at our teeth. Here are some excerpts;

When someone meets you for the first time, the first thing they notice is eyes. Second is teeth, and third is hair. But people spend way more money on their hair than their teeth.
...
A mouthwash with alcohol dries out your mouth -- you'll smell nice and minty for a half hour, but then the bad breath comes back worse than ever.
...
I have to extract a lot of baby teeth that are abscessed or heavily decayed. Parents think there's no reason to pay attention to baby teeth because they fall out. But when a tooth comes out prematurely, other teeth crowd in to fill up the space. Without the right treatment, it turns into a mess.

A Dentists View on Your Overall Health

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:15:20 -0600

A good dentist can see quite a bit about your general health by looking in your mouth. Based on the state of your gums and teeth they can tell if you might have a disease such as diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, oral cancer or osteoporosis. They can also tell if you have bulimia or are suffering from stress. Check out this interesting article to see if you have some of the oral symptoms of these diseases.

Photo via Conor Lawless

Detroit Dentists Are Busy

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:41:57 -0600

Detroit dentists are very busy these days. This is because medical benefits for about 350,000 GM and Chrystler retirees will expire very soon. So people are lining up to get their last free teethcleaning, dentures and fillings.

Optitians are also experiencing the temporary boom with people coming in to get their last free prescriptions for eye glasses.

"It's been nuts," said David Borlas, a dentist in Chesterfield who has been so busy lately he frequently works straight through his lunch hour. "Once the announcement came out, people started coming out of the woodwork. We've got people jammed on top of people."

See the full story here.

The Detroit photo above is by Dave Hogg

How to Get Whiter Teeth (For Cheap at Home)

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:03:17 -0600

In this video Kandee shows us how we can whiten our teeth at home for a fraction of the cost we would pay at the dentist. Kandee is not a dentist but she did used to work at a dentist's office so does have some good inside info. She recommends buying bleaching trays for only a couple of bucks and then customizing them to fit your mouth by dunking them in boiling water.

It seems too good to be true. Her method only costs a few bucks whereas it would normally cost over $300 at the dentist. We'd love to hear a professional dentist's opinion on her tutorial.

How to Keep Your Teeth White Naturally

Mon, 25 May 2009 08:50:26 -0600

Here's some words of advice about how to keep your teeth white naturally via the dentistwhitening blog;

If you can regularly abstain from eating foods and drinks that can easily stain your teeth, it will also help to keep longer lasting teeth whitening effects. The main foods to avoid are usually darker in color, such as chocolate, red wine and colas, as well as those that are sour and acidic, such as coffee, pineapples, vinegar etc. Of course, it is not healthy to totally avoid some of the above mentioned foods and drinks since a widely varied, balanced diet is very important to your general health. Hence, a cheap DIY teeth whitening secret is to brush and floss your teeth thoroughly at least twice a day and especially after eating these foods. By doing so, you will be able to have fresh and clean teeth, which fend off the onset of bad breath, peronditis, ginvitis, bad gums and plague formations. All these will detract your bright smile.

Veneers Can Make You Look Older

Wed, 20 May 2009 09:28:52 -0600

Porcelain veneers can dramatically improve a person's appearance, particularly if their teeth are far from perfect. But veneers don't always make you look better. Sometimes they can make a person look older or less attractive. Often they are overly white and big. Check out the interesting before and after photos of Hillary Duff who had some very poorly crafted veneers change her look for the worse when she was just 18. She's since had them redone and they look much better now.

How Much do Porcelain Veneers Cost?

Thu, 07 May 2009 11:48:30 -0600

In the short one minute video below Michelle McPhail tells us what we can expect to pay for porcelain veneers.

She is a dental technician in the Tampa Bay area and she says it costs between $900 to $1,300 for a full veneer. If you're getting a few veneers rather than just one or two you can expect to get a break on the average cost per veneer. Michelle made this video a few months ago and prices may have come down a bit since then.

The Orthdontist's Salary

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:33:00 -0600

Do orthodontists make more money than plastic surgeons? Here's an interesting tidbit we found on a student doctor forum.

My wife is an orthodontist, and this is what I know:

- private practice average income = $420k, based on a survey by the American Association of Orthodontists
- average # days worked: 4
- average # hours worked per week: 32
- average malpractice insurance : <$5,000 per year
- average patient age: 8-16 (no crying babies and no sick old people)
- never on call (well, actually they are on call 24/7 but get about 2 calls per month, and these calls are never true emergencies)
- extremely low stress
- only 2-3 years of residency after dental school, no fellowships required or even available
- majority of orthodontists do not accept insurance

When you take into account the salary compared to the number of hours worked, orthodontists make way more than any other field in healthcare. When you take into account the lack of stress, lack of call, lack of administrative crap from insurance, along with the hours and salary, it might be the best job in healthcare. Of course, I think they don't feel as much glory or satisfaction as surgeons, but perhaps I am just rationalizing... =)

Fluoride Can Turn Teeth Brown

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 14:36:35 -0600

Bill Osmunson is a cosmetic dentist who often treats the white and brown tooth damage caused by fluorides. For 25 years he promoted water fluoridation, but his life was changed when, at the urging of his patients, he re-examined the issue. As he put it, "Looking at the current literature was like a knee in the gut."

Read more here and see the video below.

Grinding Teeth Due to Stress

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:29:15 -0600

On This American Life, a dentist talks about the increasing frequency of people with newly cracked and broken teeth. He has seen an acute change in the last three or four months. People are grinding and clenching their teeth while sleeping. This is usually caused by stress, and it usually goes away when the stress lifts. But in times of high stress, whether in someone's personal life or due to the state of today's economy, the grinding can be so severe as to break a tooth. The dentist is seeing a lot more people with job pain and resulting broken teeth.

Porcelain Veneers: Choosing Shapes and Lenght

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:46:22 -0700

Cosmetic dentist Dr. Huefner has a good post about how to select porcelain veneers to suit your face. Above are two of five examples. The first image shows a more masculine smile. It suits an older face, it is square and flat. The second shape is called the "Enhanced” smile style, and is apparently popular with many beauty pageant contestants. See that the second teeth from the center are a little shorter than the front teeth. This gives a youthful effect dentists call “the gull wing” and is attractive on many females.

See three more popular veneer shapes here.

A Smile Makeover for Susan

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:25:15 -0700

Susan is a mom of five and couldn't afford to get her teeth fixed. But then she was accepted for a free teeth cleaning at the Lewisburg Family Dental Practice's free dental clinic for women. Dentist Paul Romano decided to donate more than a teeth cleaning. He replaced her upper teeth with a full denture. See her before and after makeover photos (new teeth, new hairstyle and new clothes) here.