COSMETIC DENTISTRY
There is no need to live with a smile that you want to hide! Cosmetic Dentistry can give you a smile that looks young, healthy, and vibrant. Dr. Stromboe uses advanced tools and techniques to design a smile that complements your features, feels natural, and positively shines. Don’t put off the chance to have a perfect smile. Just one or two appointments may be all that stands between you and beautiful teeth!
Q: I just want my smile to look good. What are some options to help the appearance of my smile?
A: You are not alone. Most people want to have a nice smile since it is the first thing others notice about you. You may be interested in a few minor adjustments, or you may have concerns that need more attention. Some smiles can be enhanced with simple whitening or bonding treatments. Other smiles need porcelain veneers, crowns, or bridges; gum contouring; periodontal therapy; or, a combination of all these techniques. Dr. Stromboe will suggest a treatment plan for you based on your goals and areas of concern and on the overall condition of your oral health.
Teeth Whitening
You can have the confidence that comes from a bright, white smile. If you are happy with the alignment and spacing of your teeth, a tooth whitening procedure may be all that separates you from a dazzling smile. Tooth whitening is safe, effective, and long lasting. There are two main methods to get excellent results: a custom home tooth-whitening kit or an in-office tooth-whitening procedure.
At-home Plan
Your custom home whitening kit involves a special tray that is customized to fit over your teeth. You also receive prescription whitening gel, which is inserted into the tray before you wear it. Dr. Stromboe gives you detailed instructions about how long you should wear the tray each day, and you should expect the entire home whitening process to take between two and four weeks, leaving you with a dazzling, white smile.
In-office Plan
If you desire immediate results, visit Dr. Stromboe for an in-office whitening procedure. With your dentist’s supervision, a much more powerful whitening gel is used, giving you amazing results in just a few hours!
Q: How can I safely whiten my teeth?
A: There are a number of procedures available to help whiten your smile, from at-home whitening products to in-office supervised treatments. Dr. Stromboe evaluates the potential for whitening your teeth based on their current color and the causes of any discoloration.
Appointments
Patient Talk
“Dr. Stromboe has taken my smile to a new level. I always get a lot of compliments on my teeth. All of my family members know how they looked before compared to how they look now. She’s amazing and wonderful, blessed person sent from God to do this calling…she is great at it!”
• ACTUAL PATIENT
Porcelain Veneers
Most of the smile makeovers you have seen on television or in magazines are the result of porcelain veneers. After a bit of tooth preparation, Dr. Stromboe designs veneers that will complement your natural appearance, as well as the size of your natural teeth and smile. These custom-made, thin strips of porcelain are adhered to the fronts of your existing teeth to create a sparkling, beautiful smile. Issues like crooked teeth, chipped teeth, gaps in teeth, and discolored teeth are all easily correctable with porcelain veneers. Just a few appointments are all that separate you from the beauty and self-confidence that come from a brilliant smile.
Q: How can porcelain veneers help my smile?
A: Porcelain veneers improve your smile by correcting a multitude of cosmetic concerns, including: gaps in teeth; chipped and broken teeth; dull or yellowing teeth that cannot be whitened with traditional means; “gummy smiles” (showing too much gum when one smiles); and, crooked teeth. Porcelain veneers broaden, straighten, whiten, and beautify most any smile. This procedure can be done in as little as two clinical visits. Many of our patients feel like porcelain veneers were the best improvement they could have made to enhance their overall confidence. At your next visit, ask us about how porcelain veneers can improve your smile.
Porcelain Bridges
Let’s face it…we are rough on our teeth. Sometimes we neglect them, take them for granted, or simply abuse them. Between physical activities, such as sports or chewing hard substances like ice, our teeth can get knocked out, broken, cracked, and worn down. Forgetting routine dental appointments and ignoring proper cleaning techniques can result in periodontal disease, tooth decay and ultimately tooth loss. When teeth are missing, your mouth must compensate for the lack of chewing power in that area in order to function normally. The chewing force may shift to another part of the mouth, which can cause unwanted spaces and changes in your smile. Porcelain bridges can rejuvenate your smile, restoring form and function.
A bridge is created by utilizing the existing teeth on either side of the gap in your smile as the supportive structure. After some tooth preparation, customized porcelain crowns are placed permanently over the neighboring teeth. Between these crowns, a prosthetic tooth, also made of porcelain, is suspended, thus “bridging the gap” in your smile. You get proper function back in that area of your mouth, and your smile will look great as well.
Porcelain Crowns
Are you self-conscious about your smile due to cracked, broken, decayed, or worn teeth? Porcelain crowns bring back your healthy, natural-looking smile. A filling can restore a small defect in a tooth, but a crown is the most durable way to restore any tooth with extensive damage. Additional benefits of crowns are: correcting bite problems, closing spaces between teeth, and changing the angulations of teeth. After shaping the tooth and taking some measurements, Dr. Stromboe creates a custom-milled, porcelain crown that is exactly the right size, shape and shade to match your smile. Then, Dr. Stromboe sets the crown permanently into place, restoring beauty and function to your smile. In just a couple of appointments, you have your smile back – better than ever!
Tooth-Colored Fillings
If you are embarrassed about your smile because of old, dark silver amalgam fillings, you may be a candidate for tooth-colored fillings. A tooth-colored filling is made from a composite resin – a silicon, dioxide-filled, tooth-colored material that can restore teeth to an attractive, healthy state. Tooth-colored fillings present several advantages to the patient compared with traditional silver fillings. First, Dr. Stromboe is able to blend composite shades and shapes in order to perfectly match your original teeth. Second, the tooth-composite bond actually serves to support the remaining tooth structure, preventing breakage. Finally, small- to average-sized composites have demonstrated similar duration to silver fillings. From now on, you can request youthful, natural-shaded fillings. You may even want to replace your old silver fillings!
Invisalign®
You can straighten your teeth without metal braces. Invisalign® is an FDA-approved system that uses clear, removable aligners to incrementally straighten your teeth. There are no uncomfortable brackets or wires, and because you remove the aligners to eat and drink, there are no food restrictions or problems with brushing or flossing.
Invisalign® uses 3D computer imaging to map out your entire treatment plan in advance, allowing you to see what your teeth will look like before you even begin treatment. Then, using the imaging, a series of custom aligners are created that will move your teeth incrementally. You will replace each aligner every two-to-three weeks with the next aligner in the sequence. Average treatment time from initial teeth position to brilliant, straight smile ranges from nine to 15 months. The best part is that most people will never even notice that you are undergoing treatment!
Bonding
Bonding refers to the placement of tooth-colored resin to correct chipped and broken teeth, discolored teeth and in some cases, spaces between teeth. Bonding is generally considered more conservative than veneers or other cosmetic dentistry. The benefits of bonding include the ability to maintain the natural structure of the tooth and the ability to color and sculpt the resin to create natural looking teeth. Like a natural tooth, the resin may stain with the use of coffee or other staining foods over time.
Gum Contouring
Do you see a lot of your gum tissue when you smile? Many people with “gummy smiles” don’t know that there are treatments available to cosmetically enhance the look of their smile. In many cases Dr. Stromboe can re-contour the gum tissue. With this procedure, your gummy smile disappears, revealing a bright, youthful smile that looks natural and proportioned. Call Dr. Stromboe, and begin transforming your smile today!
Q: I want cosmetic dentistry. Does my insurance pay for it?
A: Dental insurance is designed to assist you in paying for your dentistry; however, most procedures are not fully covered by your insurance. Cosmetic dentistry, in particular, is not covered by most dental insurance plans. To help you afford your smile, we do offer a variety of payment options in addition to a monthly payment plan provided through our financial partner, CareCredit. We also pay special attention to maximizing the benefits that your insurance does provide. Ask Velvet how you can comfortably afford your dentistry and maximize your dental insurance benefits.
