Instant Braces
Santa Monica
Straight White Teeth
With his wedding just a couple of months away, Jon decided to take a visit to the dentist and finally do something about his smile. Jon has yellow, spaced-out teeth that are too small for the size of his face and overall body structure. He began the process of interviewing dentists, but received mixed recommendations for treatment so he didn’t know what to do. His cosmetic dentist in Santa Barbara wanted to crown his front four teeth to make them look straight and fill in the gaps. Another cosmetic dentist in Los Angeles wanted to use Invisalign ® to close the spaces by moving the teeth closer together. Yet another cosmetic dentist in Orange County wanted to place composite dental bonding between his teeth to make them look bigger. A fourth dentist suggested porcelain veneers, but would have to do considerable grinding on his teeth to make them look natural. Jon wanted his teeth to be straight and white, but did not know which treatment approach would be best.
Porcelain Crowns
The biggest downside to crowns is that they require tooth destruction. If the tooth is healthy, and properly located, there is no need to grind down the tooth structure. Jon's natural teeth do not have a single cavity or filling, therefore to grind down his teeth for cosmetic dentistry would be bad for his dental health.
Braces or Invisalign ®?
The Invisalign ® suggested by the Los Angeles cosmetic dentist is another bad idea because if his teeth were pushed together with braces or with Invisalign ®, his upper arch would be too small and out of proportion to his face. Additionally, orthodontic requires the patient to wear retainers for the rest of their lives. The retainers would hold the teeth together, otherwise, his teeth would begin to separate again and his gaps or spaces between his teeth would return. Relapse of teeth after braces, orthodontics or Invisalign ® occurs quickly without the patient wearing retainers.
Cosmetic Dental Bonding
Cosmetic dental bonding would not be the best treatment choice for Jon because the bonding stains and discolors after just a few years. Cosmetic bonding of composite resin can break at the most inopportune times. Composite resin dental bonding is weaker than porcelain and can be unreliable with spaces between the teeth as large as Jon's.
Non-Invasive, No-Grinding Porcelain Veneers!
It wasn't until Jon visited Dr. Sam Muslin that he learned about an option that was superior to any of the other recommendations he had heard. Jon was a great candidate for the no-grinding veneers. Porcelain veneers can be classified into two categories: grinding and no-grinding. The first type requires reducing your natural teeth to make room for the porcelain. The second type does not require any grinding, anesthetic, or preparation. Both types of porcelain veneers work very well, but there are advantages and disadvantages to each type of veneer (depending on the individual characteristics of the patient's teeth). Dr. Sam Muslin has been using both porcelain veneer techniques for nearly 25 years and has the advantage of knowing which technique to use and which type will last the longest and look the best for each patient.
With great attention to detail, Dr. Muslin and his ceramist were able to customize the porcelain to fill the spaces and achieve a natural, well-balanced smile. Jon had his top ten teeth treated instead of only the top four teeth. By treating the top 10 teeth, Jon can have a beautiful white shade to his teeth and have a wider or fuller smile and a better balance to the sizes of his teeth. His teeth now have a great color, the right sizes, and a balanced width to harmonize with his entire face and physical size. The improvement to his appearance has improved his self-esteem and stepped up the level of professionalism to Jon's image.