Affordable Cosmetic Dentistry Options: A Bright Smile On A Budget

3 Affordable Cosmetic Dentistry Options and Alternatives to Veneers

Having beautiful teeth is more than just a confidence booster; research conducted by health care giant Bupa shows that our smiles play a key role in “the initial visual impression we each create” during job interviews, meetings, and at corporate presentations. Those with an attractive smile are read as being more confident, competent, and leadership-oriented, in short, they are more likely to be hired and promoted than their dentally-challenged peers.

Alas, if you haven’t already climbed the corporate ladder, you know that finding affordable cosmetic dentistry options can feel like an insurmountable hurdle; many insurance policies offer only limited coverage of cosmetic procedures as they are deemed non-necessary. Fortunately, there are a few procedures available that can make a big difference in the appearance of your smile without breaking the bank; these include:

Affordable Cosmetic Dentistry Option 1: Tooth Whitening

Tooth whitening generally relies on the use of bleach (typically hydrogen peroxide) to lift stains from badly discoloured teeth.

Which option you choose will depend on your budget, but it’s important to understand that the results attained by home bleaching kits can be extremely unpredictable; likewise, if these kits are not used properly you may damage your teeth or irritate your mouth (you will be working with bleach, after all). As such, it’s generally better to stick to whitening toothpastes and mouthwashes if you have only moderate whitening needs or a very limited budget; if you require more extensive whitening services, ask your dentist for assistance before experimenting with take-home kits.

Affordable Cosmetic Dentistry Option 2: Tooth Bonding

Cosmetic tooth bonding is the process of applying a tooth-coloured resin to the surface of damaged, discoloured, or crooked teeth in order to correct their appearance (as opposed to restorative tooth bonding, wherein this same resin is used to fill in cavities created by tooth decay).

Due to the ease of this procedure, cosmetic bonding is relatively inexpensive, while at the same time being able to make a huge difference in the appearance of your smile.

There is, however, one caveat to be aware of where tooth bonding is concerned: Composite resin is not quite as strong as natural tooth enamel, so you’ll want to treat your teeth more gently after the resin has been applied. Avoid bad habits like chewing on pens or using your teeth to open bottles, etc.

Affordable Cosmetic Dentistry Option 3: Tooth Contouring

To create these changes, your dentist will gently shave away a small amount of enamel in the areas where reshaping needs to occur (note that you may wish to combine this procedure with bonding, depending on how much enamel needs to be removed, to build the tooth back up into a more flattering shape and protect the underlying dentin).

As a final note, it’s important to be aware that if the damage you wish to correct via contouring or bonding occurred as the result of an accident of some kind (e.g., you chipped a tooth during a vehicle accident), you may be able to get your insurance to cover a portion of the procedure, so read over your policy thoroughly before proceeding.