Dr. Faber enjoys the challenges and rewards of cosmetic dentistry and welcomes any chance to create a beautiful, happy smile. Ideally, a patient seeking smile enhancement first bleaches their teeth. Once the teeth have been bleached to their lightest possible shade, the smile design can begin. It is preferable to bleach the teeth first so that any porcelain or bonding material used can be shade matched to the lightest and most esthetic potential shade of the subject teeth.

Many patients present with unsightly ‘notched’ areas of the teeth along the gumline. These areas are in many cases caused by overzealous toothbrushing habits which cause the gums to recede. Once the gums have receded, the vigorous toothbrushing destroys an area of the soft root surface. These notched areas, called cervical abrasions, typically stain dark brown and can collect food and plaque deposits. In severe cases, the nerve inside a tooth can be exposed like a beaver chewing through the trunk of a tree. Dr. Faber offers a composite bonding procedure to restore the affected tooths’ lost structure and discoloration.

Veneers
Porcelain veneers can be prepared for restoration of crooked, stained, cracked, chipped and previously filled front surfaces of teeth. Some tooth structure must be first carefully removed. After preparation, an impression must be taken and sent to an excellent dental laboratory where the veneers are fabricated. Once the finished veneers are returned to Dr. Fabers’ office, they are bonded onto the prepared teeth with special cements. Occasionally however, a patients’ teeth are simply too misaligned for veneering and require a more extensive reshaping for porcelain crowns which cover the entire circumference of the tooth. Additionally, some cases of misalignment are best treated by one of the excellent Orthodontists that Dr. Faber works with.

Dental Implants
In cases of missing teeth, there are three main options for providing replacement teeth. Often times the most esthetic and conservative treatment is to have a dental implant(s) placed. A dental implant is a relatively new (within the last 30 years) treatment in which a titanium fixture is placed in the patients jaw bone and allowed to heal for a period of time. The favorable outcome, achievable nearly every time, is a fixture that has integrated, or fused with the patients’ own bone. Once this integration has occurred, Dr. Faber can restore the fixture with a porcelain crown or bridge (in the case of multiple missing teeth).

Dental implants typically cost more initially than some of the other options whose descriptions follow, but provide several benefits and great value. Firstly, the teeth adjacent to the space do not have to be cut as with a bridge. Secondly, an implant may be cleaned and flossed just like a natural tooth. Thirdly, a dental implant appears just as a natural tooth emerging from the gums. In cases of multiple missing teeth, dental implants provide a much more secure and less cumbersome attachment than do conventional dentures.

Bridges
A bridge is a dental restoration that is permanently fixed or cemented to the teeth adjacent to the space where a tooth is missing. An artificial tooth is either cast or soldered to crowns for these adjacent teeth. Bridges can be made of either porcelain or gold. Bridgework requires the preparation of the adjacent ‘anchor’ teeth and must be entirely removed should any portion fail due to fracture or decay of supporting teeth. After the adjacent teeth are prepared, an impression is taken then sent to an excellent dental laboratory for bridge fabrication. Once the laboratory work is completed, Dr. Faber will cement the bridge with a very strong dental cement.

Dentures
Dentures and partial dentures are appliances that replace complete sets of teeth that are missing. A ‘complete’ denture replaces all of the missing teeth in an upper or lower jaw. A partial denture replaces groups of missing teeth in an upper or lower jaw and has clasps that connect to the patients’ remaining natural teeth. Dr. Faber is very comfortable treating patients who are in need of dentures for the first time due to overall deterioration of their teeth. In such cases, an ‘immediate’ denture can be fabricated then inserted in the patients’ mouth immediately after extraction of the patients’ remaining natural teeth. In this manner, the denture serves as a bandage over the extraction sites.