Cosmetic Dentistry

If you are considering a subtle enhancement to your smile or a dramatic transformation, trust Dr. Huxtable to deliver high caliber results. Dr. Huxtable combines expert skill with leading-edge technology and quality materials to delight patients who present with a wide range of aesthetic and functional concerns. Correcting or improving the shade, shape, spacing, height or width of your teeth can transform your smile transformed into your best asset. Treatment options including veneers, crowns, bridges, implants and whitening are selected to achieve beautiful, natural, comfortable, lasting results. Talk to Dr. Huxtable today about your beautiful smiles!

Whitening

Teeth whitening is perhaps the most commonly recommended cosmetic dentistry procedure. Teeth are often stained from smoking, food, drink (coffee, tea or red wine) or poor oral hygiene. Whitening the teeth, either with, in-office, or take home techniques, can enhance the appearance of your smile.

Whitening is the most conservative way to improve your smile, but has limitations, if your teeth have suffered significant wear. In such cases porcelain veneers, and crowns should be considered.

Veneers

Composite or porcelain laminates that are adhesively bonded to the surface of a tooth to correct and repair chips and cracks, will improve a worn appearance or severe tooth discolouration. Veneers may also be considered if you have gaps between your teeth or if your teeth have not whitened as much as you would like, with whitening procedures alone.

Metal Filling Replacement

There has been a lot of controversy over the use of metal (silver/mercury) fillings in restorative dental work. We have followed this debate carefully and have found that there is very good cause for replacing these metal fillings.

The quality of the filling is not in doubt. Metal fillings are very strong, and the filling itself will last you ten, twenty, thirty years or more. No doubt that metal fillings, even though they are a dated technology are durable. The problem is that metal fillings will expand and contract with changes in temperature at a much different rate than your tooth. So eating and drinking hot or cold foods and beverages will make the filling expand and contract inside your tooth. Expansion of the metal inside your tooth leads to the formation of cracks in your tooth. With time these cracks grow longer and the tooth will eventually require root canal treatment if the cracks reach the innermost section of your tooth. In the worst case scenario your tooth will split up the center and will have to be extracted. Contraction along with the expansion leads to gradual breakdown of your tooth structure around the metal filling leading to a ‘leaking filling’ which allows bacteria in and decay to start. In fact, most of the time, upon removal of older metal (silver/mercury) fillings we find either cracks, or recurrent decay.

When we x-ray a silver filling, we cannot see through it (metal is reflective) and, therefore, the cracks and decay are not detectable on the x-ray images. However, research by Dr. Sam Kherani; DDS, FADG, LVIM [“Who are Serviceable Silver-Amalgam Restorations Serving?: An In-Vivo Descriptive Study”, LVI Visions, Summer 2007] shows that 40% of silver fillings will have cracks underneath and 65% will have decay. These are typically not visible on an x-ray. Pesky cracks may not give you pain or sensitivity just yet, but after time, symptoms will start to occur. Unfortunately, once you start to have symptoms, the crack may be too advanced. If you are fortunate enough to not lose the painful cracked tooth, a root canal and crown are usually required to save the tooth.

Before signs of sensitivity are noticeable, the options for safe long term restorations are numerous and affordable. Once sensitivity becomes apparent, the number of options quickly declines. Before then we are often able to replace the existing silver filling with a tooth coloured resin filling. These fillings are bonded to your tooth and behave the same way your tooth does. If the silver filling is large, we may recommend that an Inlay or Onlay be placed for optimum longevity. An Onlay is stronger than a filling, is made from porcelain, and usually allows us to preserve most of your own remaining tooth structure.

Smile Makeover

Smile makeovers involve a comprehensive assessment of your smile esthetics in order to improve its overall appearance. Typically, one or more cosmetic dentistry procedures, such as dental veneers, dental implants, gingival sculpting, and teeth whitening, will be required for several teeth in both upper and lower arches in order to achieve the look you want.

While consulting with you about a smile makeover to primarily improve the esthetic appearance of your smile, the dentist may discover that there is a need to provide necessary treatment to correct functional problems with your bite, muscles, teeth, and bone structure. If you need full mouth reconstruction, the materials available today make it possible for the dentist to provide you with durable, functional and clinically sound treatment that also look natural. Further Information: bridge

Full-Mouth Reconstruction

Over time, everything wears out, including your smile. It’s not just your smile, but your facial appearance too. Utilizing physiologic dentistry techniques and todays porcelain technology can restore a worn smile. This process involves:

  • Determining the cause of your smile problem
  • Scanning the jaw and teeth to find the proper bite
  • Creating a resin orthotic to refine your bite and test drive your new smile
  • Using porcelain veneers and crowns to restore your teeth, bite and smile