Cosmetic Dentistry by Joe Theisen, DDS, FAGD

As dental technology has progressed, our ability to address issues beyond basic tooth health has grown immensely. Using modern machinery and medicine, we can now change tooth color, position, and shape in just a few visits, leaving any smile straight and gleaming. Through his commitment to continuing education, Dr. Joe Theisen stays up-to-date on all the most recent advances in cosmetic dentistry so that he can bring their benefits to all of his patients. We are pleased to have the opportunity to share some information on the many ways we can permanently improve your smile.

Teeth Whitening
Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain Crowns
Tooth-Colored Fillings

Teeth Whitening

Teeth whitening has become one of the most popular ways to improve a smile. This procedure offers you the chance to brighten your teeth by several shades with minimal discomfort and zero recovery time. Better yet, the treatment is quite flexible: you can have it done at home or in our office in sessions of varying length. For our in-office teeth whitening procedures, we use the Sapphire™ Plasma Arc Light in conjunction with a high quality bleaching gel to give you dramatically whiter teeth in just one hour. Patients who would prefer treatment at home can achieve similar results using a custom-built mouthguard-like oral tray from our office and a whitening gel for just 30 to 60 minutes each day for a few weeks. Whichever method you decide is best for you, you can expect to have a noticeably brighter and more attractive smile with hardly any effort or inconvenience at all. Contact our practice today to find out how this new method of cosmetic enhancement can transform your smile.

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Porcelain Veneers

Does the idea of having straighter front teeth appeal to you, while the ordeal of getting braces and wearing them for a year or two turns you off? Porcelain veneers may be a good alternative. These artificial tooth surface replacements fit over your existing teeth, allowing Dr. Joe Theisen to craft a straighter, whiter smile without painful realignment of the roots. In this type of treatment, the outer layers of the patient’s teeth are filed down a little to allow room for the veneers, which will appear completely natural after the treatment is complete. Dr. Theisen can use veneers to repair small chips, straighten minor misalignments, and improve the color of the teeth, depending on the patient’s needs and goals. Because the pulp of the tooth is left unaffected, discomfort is very slight and recovery easy. Thus, patients can enjoy the results immediately and continue to do so for as long as they last, which is usually upwards of a decade.

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Porcelain Crowns

When a tooth becomes very badly damaged, sometimes the only way to achieve a cosmetically satisfying result is to replace the visible portion altogether. A porcelain crown, unlike one made of gold or another type of metal, allows us to do so while retaining a natural look and feel for your tooth. In fact, when designed and crafted properly, porcelain crowns should be completely indistinguishable from natural teeth. Placing a crown involves two visits — allowing time for the crown to be custom-made to fit the mouth — and can be accomplished using either the root of the old tooth or a metal implant as the anchor in the jawbone, depending on the patient’s needs. Thus, a tooth that causes bite problems or is broken, out of line, or severely decayed can be made attractive and functional once more. To find out if a porcelain crown can help restore health and beauty to your teeth, talk to a specialist at our office today.

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Tooth-Colored Fillings

Traditional metal fillings may get the job done, but they also bring with them several drawbacks. Some people are concerned about them for health reasons, since they contain mercury. Other people find them visually unappealing. A new solution involves the use of composite resins to fill drilled-out and cleaned tooth cavities. These resins, which can also be used to repair some small chips in teeth, are made of a mixture of plastic and microscopic glass or ceramic particles. Fillings made with composite resins are much more difficult to see, which means a more attractive and natural-looking smile. They are also more reliable, as they break less often than metal fillings. Thus, they represent an improvement in dental treatment in almost every way.

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Discuss your goals with Dr. Joe Theisen

Dr. Theisen and his staff are eager to help you obtain the smile of your dreams. With these and other cosmetic dental procedures, we can transform your teeth in ways impossible just a generation ago while sparing you the pain and extended recovery time previously associated with major dental work. Take a moment to see the results of our efforts for yourself by perusing our gallery of before-and-after photos. If you would like to give us the chance to make you smile like never before, contact our office today to set up a free consultation.

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