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Your smile is so important. It gives you confidence, it reflects happiness, and it’s a huge part of your self-esteem. When you’re confident about the way your smile looks, you’re so much more likely to show it off to the world. Cosmetic dentistry in Tyler is the perfect way to amplify your smile and take care of any defects or flaws that might hold you back from sharing that smile. 

Thanks to technology and dental techniques, there are many options to improve your smile, positively impact your oral health, and help you achieve a radiant smile to share with everyone around you. At Smith Dental Care, we are committed to helping you create beautiful and healthy smiles. We would love to work with you! 

What is Cosmetic Dentistry? 

Traditional dentistry covers basic needs like dental cleanings and routine care. It’s all about general care and whatever steps need to be taken to accommodate that general care. Cosmetic dentistry takes it one step further and offers solutions that improve the appearance of your teeth, gums, and smile. While cosmetic procedures do take some focus on health and hygiene, it is more focused on the visual and aesthetic approach. 

There are many different types of cosmetic solutions that can be used for varying needs. It is very important to work with a professional in the industry who can assess your needs and your goals and help you create a plan for the right solution and treatment to help meet those goals. 

Why Consider Cosmetic Dentistry? 

Some people have perfect teeth and great genes, and that is amazing! The reality is that many people don’t get this lucky. Cosmetic dentistry is the way around that. When you don’t have a perfect smile, or there is something about your smile that holds you back, this is the solution to overcome that! 

These are some reasons people use cosmetic solutions: 

• Confidence Boost: a smile you are happy with and proud of is going to grant you significant confidence. You will feel more self-assured and you will smile so much more. 

• Correcting Imperfections: chipped teeth, gaps, stains, and other flaws often hold us back. It’s a self-esteem issue and it’s amazing how correcting even slight dental imperfections can help. 

• Enhance Functionality: sometimes dental imperfections can cause functionality or strength challenges with our teeth and gums. Cosmetic procedures can often improve appearances but also restore that strength and functionality. 

• Long–lasting: most cosmetic treatments and procedures are designed to last. When completed properly, they provide durable, sustainable improvements. 

These are just a few common reasons why people turn to cosmetic procedures. While the term “cosmetic” gives the general idea that it’s just about improving looks, there really is so much more to it. Yes, these procedures and treatments do improve visual appeal, but they also provide substantial improvement to use with long-lasting results. 

Popular Cosmetic Treatment Options

There are many different things that can be considered cosmetic treatment. Let’s look at some of the most popular options: 

• Teeth Whitening: professional whitening treatments will help with stains and discoloration, often delivering dramatic results to help brighten and improve a smile. 
• Veneers: veneers are custom-made shells that form to your natural teeth and enhance the visual surface of the teeth to correct and hide discoloration, cracks, chips, and other similar elements. 
• Invisalign: a discreet and effective solution to help straighten teeth without the hassle or discomfort of traditional braces. 
• Bonding: repairing chips, cracks, gaps, and other visual issues with quick and cost-effective options that just use a tooth-colored resin to make the repair. 
• Gum Contouring: reshaping the gum line can help improve the balance of teeth and gums in a smile. This is most often used when a patient feels their teeth are too gummy in appearance. 
• Dental Implants: a permanent denture solution that replaces missing teeth with a surgical implant that is anchored into the jawbone. 

As you can see, there are many different options, and this does not cover them all. When someone wants to improve their smile, these are a few of the choices available to do just that. 

Making Smile Transformations Happen

The process of cosmetic dentistry and transforming a smile is often complex. It will always start with a consultation to ensure you and the provider are on the same page. They will examine your teeth and your situation and get to know what you want to accomplish as well. 

This leads to a personalized treatment plan that will help to achieve the results you are after. The total time from consultation to completion will simply depend on the procedures required and how long individual treatments might take to complete. 

Consider Smith Dental Care for Cosmetic Dentistry in Tyler

Smith Dental Care is proud to offer an array of cosmetic solutions. We understand that this is an investment in your confidence and your smile, and we are here to support you every step of the way. 

Schedule your consultation today to get started!

It’s no secret that New Year’s Eve is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the world. Dr. Smith, Dr. Ogletree, and Dr. Douglas and our team love it too. It’s a fresh start, another year of surviving the crazy world we live in, a time to refocus on the things we want for ourselves, a celebration with those we love … the list goes on.

Dozens of countries welcome the New Year with over-the-top parties and celebrations. Because it’s a public holiday, many offices, businesses, and schools close for the day. As you think about your plans for this holiday, here are some fun facts about New Year’s that might surprise you!

Can you guess what the most common New Year’s resolutions are? You may already have one or two of these on your own personal list. The top five New Year’s resolutions are: to quit smoking, get a new job, lose weight, increase personal savings, and return to school. Just remember that coming up with a concrete plan to reach your goals is the surest way to achieve your resolutions!

About one million people brave the cold to watch the New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York City’s Times Square in person. Yes, that’s one million! This event is one of the most iconic celebrations in the world. People travel from all over just to experience it, but you can watch from the warmth and comfort of your living room.

If you’re not a fan of cabbage, collard greens, black-eyed peas, or ham hocks, you might want to revise your tastes. All these foods are all regarded as lucky fare on New Year’s Day. Unless you’re allergic, of course!

For many people in Mexico and Latin America, eating 12 grapes at midnight is a tradition that brings good luck in the 12 coming months. Most people even make a wish per grape!

Whether you’re celebrating in Tyler, TX or traveling elsewhere to observe the holiday, New Year’s Eve is a time to enjoy the company of your friends and family. Don’t forget to send warm wishes to your loved ones, and snag a midnight kiss with that special someone if you can!

In our continuing efforts to provide the most advanced technology and highest quality care available to our patients at Smith Dental Care, we proudly screen our patients for oral cancer. The fact is, every hour of every day in North America, someone dies of oral cancer, which is the sixth most common diagnosed form of the disease. The five-year survival rate is only 50 percent, and oral cancer is one of the few cancers whose survival rate has not improved.

Oral cancer can occur on the lips, gums, tongue, inside lining of the cheeks, roof of the mouth, and the floor of the mouth. Symptoms of oral cancer may include a sore in the throat or mouth that bleeds easily and does not heal, a red or white patch that persists, a lump or thickening, ear pain, a neck mass, or coughing up blood. Difficulties in chewing, swallowing, or moving the tongue or jaws are often late symptoms. While there is no way to predict exactly which individuals will get oral cancer, there are some potential causes we want you to know about. In some cases, it is possible to minimize these risk factors.

• Age (most patients diagnosed with oral cancer are over the age of 40)
• Tobacco use, either from cigarettes or smokeless chewing tobacco
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Persistent viral infections, such as HPV16
• A diet lacking or low in fruits and vegetables

Finding out you have oral cancer can be devastating news. If you are concerned that you might be at risk for developing oral cancer, talk to us about screenings and other things you can do to reduce your risk. Through a routine visual inspection, Dr. Smith, Dr. Ogletree, and Dr. Douglas and our team at Smith Dental Care can often detect premalignant abnormalities and cancer at an early stage, when treatment is both less expensive and more successful, and can potentially save your life. Ask Dr. Smith, Dr. Ogletree, and Dr. Douglas and our team at Smith Dental Care about a screening at your next appointment!

Accidents happen. Next time you’ll wear your mouthguard when you skateboard, never use your teeth to open anything, and carefully step away from your grandmother’s hard candy dish. But what to do now for your chipped tooth?

First of all, call Smith Dental Care. Dr. Smith, Dr. Ogletree, and Dr. Douglas and our team can offer tips on dealing with any pain and how to avoid injuring your tooth further. Make an appointment to see us as soon as possible, where one of the following options might be the best treatment for you:

• Bonding

If the chip is small, you might be a good candidate for bonding. A tooth-colored resin is applied to the damaged area with adhesive, molded to shape, and then hardened with a curing light. It is then polished and, if necessary, further shaped to match your surrounding teeth.

• Porcelain Veneer

A veneer is a thin shell of porcelain individually molded for your tooth. If the chip is too large for bonding, or if you would like a more translucent finish, a veneer might be appropriate. During your first appointment, some of the tooth structure will be gently removed to accommodate the size of the veneer. A mold will be taken and sent to a lab for the creation of the veneer, which will be bonded to your tooth on a later visit. Whether a veneer will be successful depends on several variables, such as the condition of the tooth and enamel, your bite, and whether you grind your teeth. We will take all these factors into consideration in discussing possible treatments.

• Crown

A large chip or pain when eating or drinking might mean that you need a crown. This “cap” will protect your tooth from the pressures of chewing as well as restoring its appearance. On your first visit, some of the tooth structure will probably be removed to make room for the crown, impressions will be taken for the dental lab to make a permanent crown, and a temporary model will be fitted to your tooth. In a following visit the permanent crown will be adhered to your tooth.

If the crack has extended to the pulp of the tooth, you might need a root canal. If this is necessary, we will discuss the procedure during our exam.

No matter the size of the chip, it is important to contact our Tyler, TX office immediately to help avoid infection and prevent further damage. If your tooth is broken below the gumline or otherwise seriously compromised, more intensive care will be necessary. But when a minor accident happens, prompt treatment can quickly restore your smile to health.