A full, dazzling smile is anyone’s best accessory. It’s also proof that your teeth and gums are strong and healthy. But if your smile is less than bright, complete, and healthy, it’s easy to feel self-conscious and experience difficulties with basic dental function. It also puts you at risk of the most common dental issues, such as cavities, tooth decay, gum disease, and more.
But, it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t have to be stuck with a less-than-stellar smile. Periodontists in Mississauga can do a lot to rehabilitate and enhance your smile. Whether your smile is “gummy,” toothy,” or your gums have receded, and require a gum graft, there are several cosmetic dentistry treatments you can undergo to save your smile and regain your confidence.
Get a healthier, better-looking smile. Find out how a periodontist can help with these cosmetic procedures for restoring and enhancing your smile.
Cosmetic Dentistry Procedures for Improving Your Smile
Flash your smile with confidence. Eat, talk, laugh, and more with strong and healthy teeth and gums. Check out the top cosmetic treatments that can give you a smile you’ve always wanted and deserve.
1. Gum bleaching
Healthy gums are typically pink, so if yours have darker pigments, gum bleaching is the perfect treatment for getting healthier-looking gums.
Now, keep in mind that genetics is the primary factor in darker gums. This is due to a higher melanin build-up, causing gums to look brown or even black, rather than pink. Note that a naturally higher pigmentation does not indicate oral health problems. However, if your gums have darkened due to medications or smoking, you may be more inclined to bleach them and have them restored to a healthy pink.
2. Dental implants
Designed to replace missing teeth, dental implants are not purely cosmetic, but largely functional. Implants are a long-term solution for restoring your smile with a complete set of teeth. Periodontists recommend dental implants because they fuse with your jawbone to function as the root of teeth, keeping new dental crowns stable. As a result, you regain both dull dental function and cosmetic benefits.
3. Crown lengthening
Does your smile appear “gummy,” or your teeth appear too short? Crown lengthening is a solution to this. In this cosmetic procedure, your periodontist will shave off excess bone and gum tissue, essentially reshaping them to expose more of the tooth’s surface. The result is an ideal, healthy ratio of gum to tooth. Crown lengthening can be performed on one or more teeth to even your gum line.
4. Gum grafting
If your teeth are appearing longer, they’re feeling extra sensitive to hot or cold food and drink, or the roots have receded, these are telltale signs of gum recession. Receding gums can result in heightened sensitivity and tooth loss when left untreated. This happens as pockets form where the gums have receded, causing plaque to build up. A gum graft is used to cover these areas, restoring healthy gum tissue that protects the roots of the teeth from decay and loss.
5. Major and minor bone grafting
Do you have one or more missing teeth for a while now? When left untreated for years, the jawbone where teeth are missing can atrophy or is reabsorbed. This lowers bone density, making the jawbone unstable and unable to support replacements. This means, if you opt for tooth replacement later on using dental implants, the jawbone will require bone grafting to restore sufficient density. Bone grafts can also be used to encourage large defects in the jaw and enable regeneration.
6. Sinus lift
Did you know that some roots of the upper teeth can extend up to the maxillary sinuses? This means, if you lose one or a few teeth and the sinus wall is very thin, you cannot receive dental implants—or not yet.
Instead, you will first need a sinus graft or sinus lift graft. Your periodontist will access the sinus where the upper teeth would be, lifting the sinus membrane and inserting the bone graft onto the floor of the sinus, which is also the roof of the mouth. Once it heals, the grafted bone is now part of your jaw, and you will be able to receive dental implants.
7. Ridge expansion and preservation
When you lose teeth, the bone holding them typically recedes or shrinks. This is why it’s important to have a missing tooth replaced as soon as possible, or a bone graft is required before dental implants can be placed.
In severe cases, the ridge is reabsorbed and a bone graft is required to increase ridge height and width. When this happens, your periodontist will restore the lost bone density by expanding the bony ridge of the jaw. Then, the graft is placed, and once healed, the implants follow.
8. Scaling and root planing
If you are in the early stages of periodontal disease, your periodontist will perform scaling and root planing to remove plaque and tartar build-up below the gum line. Then, they will smooth out the gum tissue, allowing it to heal before it is reattached to the tooth. However, if the pockets where plaque build-up are already too big to keep clean, your periodontist may also recommend reduction procedures.
9. Bite adjustment
Your bite is considered normal when the upper and lower teeth are perfectly aligned, neither row jutting out. As well, a healthy bite is not damaged with daily use.
However, if your teeth show wear, become loose, or the TMJ is damaged, your periodontist may recommend bite adjustment. This restores your bite to normal appearance. Bite adjustment is done by reshaping the biting surfaces of the teeth and eliminating excessive pressure where the teeth come into contact. Other methods include bite splint therapy using a custom-fitted bite guard, braces, reconstruction of damaged teeth, and old, worn out, or damaged fillings.
10. Frenectomy
Periodontists perform this oral surgery to remove or loosen the frenum or the muscle tissue that is connected to the lip, cheek, or floor of the mouth. If you have a large frenum, it can prevent the tongue from moving freely, which interferes with speech, known as “tongue tie”. Similarly, if the frenum is attached between the two upper front teeth, a frenectomy is required to enable speech and enhance your smile.
Book Gum Grafting and Other Cosmetic Procedures at Periodontal Associates
Who doesn’t love a healthy, beautiful smile? Now, you can enhance your smile with gum grafting and other cosmetic dentistry treatments. From bleaching the gums and crown lengthening, to treating receding gums, and adjusting your bite, there are a lot of things your friendly and experienced neighbourhood periodontists in Mississauga can do to improve your smile. With extensive training and experience in both essential and cosmetic periodontal treatment, our periodontists can restore your healthy gums and keep them healthy for longer.
Smile brighter and better with a healthy gum line. Check out gum grafting and other cosmetic procedures at Periodontal Associates in Mississauga. Book a consultation with our periodontists today.
