Cosmetic dentistry can go a long way towards improving your smile and the confidence that goes with it. Nowadays, it is possible to change or alter almost any part of your body to make it fit with your vision of yourself. Everything from your nose to your toes can be reshaped, remodeled, resized or retouched to correct flaws or just to suit your style. Why not your teeth and mouth as well?

Dentistry is no longer simply about pulling teeth or root canals. There is an ever growing new field of dentistry that focuses on the aesthetic and cosmetic, improving the looks rather than just the health of your mouth and smile.

Improvements in technology have made it possible for cosmetic dentists to do everything from whiten teeth to reshape your mouth entirely with relative ease. From procedures as minor as choosing a certain color or materials for your fillings to correcting the bone structure of your mouth, the options for improving your smile and style are endless.

If there is something about your mouth and teeth that is bothering you and making you cringe when you look in the mirror, odds are there is a way for a cosmetic dentist to help you fix it.

The first step on the road to building your smile and your confidence is choosing the right dentist for cosmetic dentistry. To find a good dentist, find one that has experience and training in every procedure. Not every dentist has experience with every procedure. Also, there are often others involved in the major procedures, such as orthodontists and lab techs.

Make sure that you know who is working with your dentist, as well as who the dentist is. You can ask for before and after photos of prior patients, as well, to make sure that your dentist’s style fits yours. One other tip is to see if your dentist is accredited with a cosmetic dentistry association in your country, such as the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, AACD, in the United States.

Once you’ve found a dentist for cosmetic dentistry, the next step is to figure out what exactly you want done to your mouth. As stated before, there are many options, ranging from choosing the correct filling to correcting the bone structure of your mouth. Fillings are made now out of porcelain or composite material, so you can choose one that does not leave a dark spot on your teeth.

There are methods of teeth whitening than can correct discoloration and brighten your smile. Teeth can be straightened using Invisalign braces, which are invisible and will do the job without showing.

There are tooth implants that fit directly into the bone, looking more natural than traditional false teeth and able to be placed where one tooth is missing rather than having to wait to replace a bunch. If a problem is found with the bone structure of the shape of your mouth, cosmetic dentistry can correct that, as well.

Much of what a cosmetic dentist does, even the more involved treatments, can be done in the office nowadays, and lasers and improvements in the methods of sedation make them much more comfortable for you than they were before.

Recovery times for cosmetic dentistry procedures varies widely. Procedures that require sedation will have a longer recovery time.

The cost of cosmetic dentistry procedures varies as widely as the procedures themselves. While porcelain fillings can be relatively cheap and teeth whitening costs in the hundreds, tooth implants cost in the thousands.

Because most of these procedures are elective, many are not covered by insurance, so the cost will be out of pocket. Having said that, in some cases, where the improvements aid health as well as looks, some of the cost may be covered by insurance.

You should know that, as with all procedures of this type, there may be elements that may make cosmetic dentistry inadvisable. If you are a smoker, for example, teeth whitening will not last and be ineffective. Also, dentists recommend that many procedures wait until the bone structure is fully formed, and therefore may recommend not doing teeth implants on children until adolescence.

Your smile is one of the first things people notice about you, and the shape and color of your teeth are a good part of your first impression. If there is something about your mouth and smile that you don’t like, it can have a major impact on your self confidence. Why not let a dentist have a look and fix what bothers you about the cosmetics of your smile?

With all of the new techniques and technologies these days, there is sure to be something that can make you feel better and give you a brighter smile. Your confidence will get a major boost and you can be sure that your smile shows the best you. Whatever it is that you don’t like about your mouth or your teeth, it can be improved and restored through cosmetic dentistry.