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Tooth Touch Ups

(October, 1995)

If stained or broken teeth are lowering your child's self-esteem, something can and often should be done. Does your child smile without showing her teeth or cover his mouth before laughing? Cosmetic dental procedures are available for children. The following are a few examples of the services pediatric dentists can provide:

Chipped permanent teeth are easily fixed. Many years ago the tooth had to be crowned (i.e., capped), an expensive multivisit treatment. Now a simple procedure called bonding is used to fill in the missing piece from the fracture. A very strong tooth colored material is used to re-form the tooth. These modern materials may be used to eliminate spaces between the teeth of older children.

Discoloration from various medications is not as common as it once was, but it still occurs. These stains are sometimes difficult to bleach out. A good solution is to have a thin veneer, made of acrylic or porcelain, bonded to each of the stained teeth.

Moderate stains and blemishes in the outer layer of the enamel may be removed by a process known as microabrasion. A minute outer layer of the stained enamel is removed by this chemical/physical process. This safe and simple procedure only works for minimal stains or blemishes in the outer enamel surface.