by Dr.Meer Stanisai
Did you know that when people look at your mouth, the first thing they notice is the two front teeth? Many people don’t realize how important a good smile is and the changes that have taken place in dentistry as far as materials that the dentist has is using, especially when front teeth are concerned.
With the astute dentist, there should be no reason why a person cannot get the smile that they are looking for. Back in the day, dentists used porcelain caps baked to some kind of metal for added strength. There was always the need for extra tooth reduction to make the cap bulky enough to hide the metal underneath. Today the porcelain and porcelain type materials are getting stronger and can be beautiful to look at.
If the patient is looking for a whole new look, the shape and size and shade of the teeth can be changed to the patient’s specifications. Or as is often the case, there is one offending tooth with an ugly cap down years ago that sticks out like a sore thumb. In those situations, the fun is in duplicating the teeth already present, and it can be done.
The other day, I had a patient in the chair. If she had not told me, I would not have known it was a cap on her front tooth. It looked exactly like the tooth next to it in shade, shape and contour. On the other hand, I had a patient come in with his entire upper front teeth capped twenty years ago after an accident. They were heavily opaque and lifeless to hide the metal underneath. They were state of the art twenty five years ago.
You could see the margins at the gum line. I could see that they were caps from 20 feet away.
He was very happy with them and said he gets compliments all the time, so I didn’t go there. If he knew what we could do for him today, I think he would be amazed. Now I feel bad for not saying anything, I will let him know the next time I see him.
Dr. Meer Stanasai is with Margarita Town Smiles Dentistry in Murrieta. For appointments or more information, call (951) 696-8200.