Dr Erickson St Joseph Dentistry Services:
Veneers
Of all the methods available today for changing and improving the look of your smile, veneers are among the most popular and successful with our patients. The process involves removing a small amount of tooth structure to make room for the veneers. The dental lab then fabricates the veneers from impressions. After placement, the veneers look like natural teeth. Some advantages of porcelain veneers over bonding include increased longevity, and resistance to staining.
Instant Orthodontics
Orthodontic braces are most desirable for people under the age of 18. At this stage in life, the bone is more malleable, teeth move easier and are more likely to stay in place once the bone "remodels" around the newly positioned teeth. Many adults also wear braces, however, they are most likely to wear them for a longer period of time, and require a permanent retainer to hold the new positioning. Braces also require numerous office visits in addition to the general hassles of wearing braces. Braces may reposition teeth but will not affect the shape and color of the teeth, which may or may not be desirable.
Smile Design
Smile Design is a conservative, non-aggressive way to rejuvenate your smile. Veneers work well for tooth reshaping and resizing. Veneers are an attractive way to improve your smile because they achieve a very natural look with a very conservative tooth preparation (shaping). Very little natural tooth structure is removed when veneers are bonded into place and the virgin strength of the tooth is recaptured as well. We have found that this is the treatment of choice for smile enhancement, if more than whitening is needed.
Metal-Free Restorations
Until recently, dental patients have been told that repairing teeth with white fillings was just for cosmetic purposes, and white fillings may not be as durable as the metal restorations. This philosophy is now passé. With the modern technologies of dental adhesion, resins, lasers, and state-of-art ceramics, the new porcelain restorations are close to rivaling nature in strength, wear, function, and appearance. There are now sixteen-year studies showing that with properly administered technique, these advanced restorations surpass traditional dentistry. With these new materials, it is possible to bond teeth back together, virtually restoring them back to their virgin strength without the invasiveness of full-coverage crowns. In the majority of circumstances, metal fillings or crowns can be replaced with techniques that are more conservative. It is therefore possible to preserve the healthy, remaining tooth structure, rather than whittling teeth down, as a pencil would be ground away by a pencil sharpener.
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Dr. Sven Erickson DDS - Providing services in cosmetic dentistry to the communities of St Joseph and Berrien, Sawyer, Bridgman and Riverside, Michigan (MI).
