Tooth Contouring and Reshaping

Overview

Tooth contouring and reshaping is a dental procedure meant for individuals having cracked, irregular, chipped and overlapping teeth. The procedure aims at correcting your facial appearance by improving your smile.

It is the best alternative to braces in certain circumstances and it offers subtle changes to your dental structure. In a way, it is an ideal treatment option used to change the position or shape of your teeth and even alter its length.

There are several benefits to tooth contouring and reshaping. First off, the procedure is inexpensive, involves minimal discomfort since it removes only the surface enamel, boosts health of your teeth, minimizes risk of gum diseases and decay. Eventually, the process helps to rectify your teeth look by making it straighter and removing minor over lapping.

Tooth contouring when combined with dental veneers and cosmetic bonding creates great changes to highly imperfect teeth. Those who have poorly aligned and broken teeth are the suitable candidates for tooth contouring and reshaping. The procedure is, indeed, a conservative and safest way of improving your smile.

Before you undergo the procedure, doctors make an in-depth study of your dental X-rays and computer images. This gives them a concrete idea about how to go about the procedure. There are other preparations to be taken before the doctor decides which type of treatment would suit you the best.

Before the Treatment

Tooth reshaping and contouring is accomplished by a team of cosmetic dentists. Prior to deciding which treatment suits a patient, the team evaluates the location and size of each tooth pulp and assesses if there is sufficient bone between each tooth to support your dental enhancements.

The patient is, therefore, asked to come to the clinic and undergo dental X-rays. He studies those X-rays and marks the teeth with a pen or pencil before performing the sculpting procedure. He also uses computer imaging of your teeth to understand the structure and faults in it and chalk out a contouring and reshaping plan with any of these procedures- dental veneers, tooth bonding, tooth reshaping and contouring, etc.

On the day of the surgery, the patient is asked to eat sufficient food and have only non-alcoholic liquids. He/she should avoid smoking on the day of the surgery. The type of preparations to be taken before the surgery depends upon which type of procedure is performed.

One thing common before any of treatments is that the patient should discuss with his doctor regarding his dental and physical health concerns. Accordingly, he is advised to take certain medicines and forgo others. Also, the doctor prescribes painkillers and antibiotics as per the individual requirement.

How it is performed

Teeth contouring and reshaping involves various dental procedures that vary from patient to patient. It depends upon the sheer shape and structure of a patient’s teeth and its shape and size. Sometimes, two or more procedures are combined to ensure greater cosmetic results. Hence, here is how teeth contouring and reshaping is performed as follows:

• Dental Veneers- Veneers are sometimes combined with contouring procedure to correct severely discoloured teeth, small pits and holes in teeth, chipped and crooked teeth and uneven spaces between teeth. Before the procedure, your dentist takes an impression of your dental structure and the veneer. He then glues the veneer directly on your teeth.
• Tooth reshaping and contouring- Teeth reshaping and contouring is done by smoothening out small chips and fractures in teeth, rounding off sharp edges and angles and contouring for a better alignment. The procedure is, however, limited to very small changes since large amount of enamel taken can make your teeth weaker.
• Tooth bonding- This is a natural way of covering flaws in your teeth by putting a thin coating made out of a plastic material. Your dentist applies a bonding material sculpt to change the colour, shape and size of your teeth. A laser light is used to harden the plastic and once done the surface of the teeth is finally polished. Tooth bonding is often accompanied by teeth reshaping and contouring procedures.
• Once the procedure is completed, the dentist studies computer images of your teeth to spot the differences. After all, the teeth contouring and reshaping helps to create uniformity in size and shape of your teeth.

Recovery

The patient is allowed to go home immediately after the procedure. The recovery of teeth contouring and reshaping is instant, making it feasible for you to eat and drink like normal after you go home. Since a small portion of enamel is taken, there is no healing involved. However, a minor sensitivity to cold and hot foods is felt for a couple of days after the surgery.