Cosmetic Dentistry
At Cliffs Dental Group we offer several cosmetic dentistry treatments to help you achieve a brighter, more confident smile. Cosmetic dentistry is a branch of dentistry that is designed to help maintain the appearance of your smile.
Our cosmetic dentistry in Bergen County NJ can enhance your smile and help you achieve a more even and whiter smile. While cosmetic dental procedures are often sought-after to achieve a straighter, fuller, whiter smile, cosmetic dentistry can also be used to help treat or protect a damaged tooth.
Bonding
Dental bonding is the use of composite dental resin to repair damaged teeth quickly. Most bonding procedures can be completed in just one office visit. First, a resin that matches the color of your teeth is selected and your tooth is prepared for application. Then the resin is used to repair chips, fill in gaps, lengthen a short tooth or cover severe discoloration that will not respond to whitening. An ultraviolet light hardens the resin and then the application is buffed and polished until the texture matches that of your other teeth.
Smile Makeover
Complete Smile Makeover is unique in that it varies depending on each patient. Because full mouth reconstruction is a series of procedures, recovery time, results, and procedure length will all vary depending on the number of procedures in total. Some common dental procedures performed during full mouth reconstruction include dental implants, dental crowns, dental bridges, fillings, and porcelain inlays / and onlays. Additionally, porcelain veneers, dental bonding and clear braces such as Invisalign® may also be used during full mouth reconstruction.
Tooth Whitening
Whitening, also known as bleaching, is the procedure used to brighten teeth. There are two different ways to achieve a desired whiter smile, In-Office Bleaching and At-Home Bleaching.
In-Office Bleaching usually requires only one office visit. A protective gel or a rubber shield is placed over the gums to protect the soft tissue. A bleaching agent containing carbamide peroxide is applied to the teeth, and a laser light is then used to enhance the action of the whitening agent .
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At-Home bleaching requires an impression of the teeth to be taken to make a customized mouth guard to hold the whitening gel, containing carbide peroxide, against the teeth. Once the mouth guard is made, it is worn for a period of time, as instructed by our office. The amount of time may vary from a couple hours a day, or all night, for up to four weeks or longer, if desired.
Invisalign
For our patients who would benefit from better alignment of their teeth, we are pleased to be able to offer Invisalign clear acrylic aligners. These nearly-invisible trays that fit over upper and lower teeth address a variety of issues, including:
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Crooked teeth
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Overcrowded teeth
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Overbite
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Underbite
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Crossbite which occurs when you close your mouth and some of your upper teeth are sitting inside your lower teeth
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Open bite where the front teeth do not meet at all
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Spaces between the teeth
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After taking impressions of a patient’s teeth and images of their face and mouth, all this information is sent to Invisalign technicians who design the perfect series of acrylic aligners that, over a period of months, will gradually ease teeth into their proper position. When the aligners arrive at Cliffs Dental Group, we will check them carefully for a correct and comfortable fit. You won’t need to return every couple of weeks to have these aligners tightened like you would with metal braces. We’ll just check your progress from time to time to ensure all is well.
The length of time required to reshape a smile will be different for every patient depending on how much correction is needed. A treatment period of nine to eighteen months is typical, although some cases take less time and some more. Besides doing an effective job of correcting alignment and bite, Invisalign trays are very nearly invisible. Patients quickly become accustomed to the feel of the trays and soon feel comfortable talking and smiling.
Because Invisalign trays can be removed for meals and cleaning, the major inconvenience of metal braces can be avoided. You can eat whatever you want and brush and floss your teeth normally, preserving the health of your teeth during treatment. Invisalign treatment is a major advance over the discomfort and undesirable appearance of metal braces and is suitable for both teens and adults.
Inlays & Onlays
Nonmetal porcelain inlays and onlays are used to protect teeth that have experienced decay or damage. Porcelain inlays and onlays can make a damaged tooth stronger and healthier and also reduce the potential for the tooth to become even more damaged. If a damaged tooth is left untreated, the risk of fracturing or breaking the tooth increases. Porcelain inlays are used to treat the center of a tooth’s surface, between cusps, or rounded edges. On the other hand, dental onlays are used to treat one or more cusps or the entire biting surface of a damaged tooth.
Crowns
A crown is a durable ceramic cover for a tooth that protects it and extends its life. It is used when a tooth has been damaged, has fractured, suffered significant decay or lost a large piece. A tooth that has had root canal therapy should be crowned because the loss of the nerve and blood supply will cause that tooth to become brittle.
Veneers
Patients wishing that their teeth were a more attractive shape or who wish that their teeth were more even in length can receive great benefit from veneers. But there are even more improvements offered by this rapid cosmetic treatment. Badly stained or discolored teeth that will not respond to whitening can be made brilliant again with veneers and Lumineers. Uneven spacing or the length of the teeth can be corrected. Chips, gaps and even moderate irregularity of alignment can also be addressed.
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We offer our patients' porcelain veneers and the premier brand of veneers, Lumineers. Veneers are thin porcelain shells created especially for you that will be bonded to your teeth, covering the front and the tip. There is a slight thickness to veneers, which means that a very small amount of enamel must be removed from the teeth so they have room to fit. But the results can be spectacular. After they have spent years living with a dingy, irregular smile, we see our patients transform into individuals who love to flash a bright new smile.
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Lumineers are thinner than veneers but very strong. They do not require the removal of any enamel but only a slight etching of the surface of each tooth. If a person decides later to have them removed, it’s not a problem because the teeth under the Lumineers are the same size and shape they originally were.