In pursuit of excellence in esthetic dentistry, Dr. DeVore attended a course March 9th and 10th presented by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry at their headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.  Dr. Corky Willhite, renowned worldwide for his skill and accomplishments in cosmetic dentistry, presented the two day "hands on" course teaching the latest and most advanced bonding techniques.  To read more about Dr. Willhite, go to http://www.dentalxp.com/xperts/cwillhite. 

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence. - Abigail Adams

Crowns or "caps" have come a long way in the last 20 years!  It used to be that the only cosmetic option a dentist had for a badly broken tooth was to make you a crown with gold underneath and porcelain on top.  It was felt that the gold would add strength to the crown and make it last longer.  The result was a tooth that just did not look natural. 

Natural teeth are very translucent and have many textures in the enamel that reflect light in all different directions, to create a 'bright" smile.  Light cannot pass through gold which gives a porcelain over gold crown a very opaque appearance.  To make matters worse, if your gums recede just a little bit, which happens over time, a "black line" becomes visible along the gumline.  The result is a tooth that is unsightly.  You may not want to smile as big as you used to, or in conversation with other people, you may catch them looking at your teeth, trying to figure out what is wrong.

Fortunately, we now have all-porcelain crowns that are incredibly strong and beautiful.  Your old crown can be removed and replaced with a new one that blends perfectly with your natural teeth.  Below is a case that I did for a young woman who fractured one of her front teeth as a child.  The tooth darkened and eventually needed a root canal.  It was crowned to make it look better, but for years she disliked her smile.  It affected her daily life as well as her self esteem.  She is now so happy with her teeth that she smiles constantly and can't believe she waited so many years to have it done.

Old Smile	New Smile!

A beautiful smile can change your life!  It is as easy as a phone call.  Let's see what we can do for you. -Dr. DeVore

So many times we accept our smile the way it is because we think it is a major expense or it is a long procedure to change it.  This past week I saw a patient who was unhappy with the way her teeth looked. She was just a lovely woman, but she had two small fillings in her front teeth that had been there for 20 years.  They had stained over time.  Also complicating her situation were slightly receding gums which had left a "black triangle" of space up along the gumline which could be seen every time she smiled. We decided to replace the two fillings as well as close the space.

After taking some photos, we created her new smile in less than an hour!

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." -Mother Teresa

If you are unhappy with the way your teeth look, come in for a consult so we can have a talk, and discover what can be done to make your smile lovely too! - Dr. DeVore

In my last blog, we talked about some reasons you may not be happy with your front teeth.  When simple fillings or bleaching won't fix the problem, perhaps porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns will give you the smile of your dreams. 

When your teeth are prepared for porcelain veneers, a small amount of enamel is removed from the fronts of your teeth and replaced with porcelain.  The advantage to this is that porcelain does not stain and you have no reason to worry about drinking your coffee or red wine.  They work beautifully when you have minimal staining or teeth that are not quite as straight as you would like.  I know you have all seen bulky veneers that look like "chicklets", but when done by a dentist trained in cosmetic dentistry, they are beautiful and natural looking.  Sometimes, a combination of veneers and crowns will give you the best smile. With severe staining, porcelain crowns will most likely be necessary to adequately hide the staining.

Even if you already have veneers or crowns that you are not happy with, they can be changed to look like lovely natural teeth.  In the case I am going to show you, my patient had bulky porcelain veneers that were the wrong color.  She was very unhappy with them.  First we took records, photos, and impressionsof her teeth, which enabled me to definitively determine the position of her teeth and her true "bite".  Once she left the office, I spent about 4-5 hours working with these records and created the "new" position and shape of her new smile.  She approved of my result and we made her porcelain crowns.  She was delighted with the result

We get this esthetic result by using "all" porcelain veneers with no gold underneath.  They are just as strong without the unsightly "black line" at the gumline or the "opaque" look.  Call the office at 508-747-5400 if you would like a consult.  - Dr. DeVore