Cosmetic Dentist: Pre-Procedural Oral Health

The first cosmetic dentist visit you make will actually be a great deal of fun. This is because you are coming in to see a cosmetic dentist who is going to work hard to give you the smile you have always wanted. Even though many people suffer from mild to acute dental anxiety, we have found that the vast majority of people have no trouble or suffer from very little anxiety when it comes to cosmetic dental procedures. Part of this has to do with the motivation behind why a person visits the dentist, being it a cosmetic dentist or a general dentist. People most often come in to see a cosmetic dentist because they want to take steps to fix their smile. This makes it purely elective, and hence, a voluntary process. On the other hand, seeing your general dentist is required to keep your teeth healthy and is often for medical procedures, meaning they are required. This distinction often leads to people only wanting to come in and see their cosmetic dentist.

There are many times, however, that we cross the realm of cosmetic and general dentistry. For example, we commonly get questions from patients about their eligibility to get cosmetic dentistry solutions. They are worried about the overall health and well-being of their mouth and are concerned that their own oral health may not be good enough to qualify for a smile makeover. To answer the question about eligibility requires that we see the patient in the clinic for a comprehensive examination since each case is unique. From a broad perspective, there are very few conditions that could prevent you from permanently getting a cosmetic solution to your smile. There are a number of conditions that can cause you to delay your procedures, mostly while you deal with treating the conditions themselves. A comprehensive examination will bring each of these to light and give us the opportunity to resolve these issues before they become an unnecessary complication or a hindrance to your ability to heal after the cosmetic dentist provides the treatment.

Two of the most common reasons why we would pause during a cosmetic dentist treatment are tooth infections and cavities. Both of these are remarkably easy to treat, so there is no cause for concern. In the first case, the tooth may have become infected for any number of reasons. Most often the pulp, or the soft inner part of the tooth, becomes infected and can be fixed with a root canal, along with a prescription of antibiotics. If the infection is serious or has spread, there may be a need to extract the tooth itself before proceeding. It would be imprudent to proceed with any kind of procedure with an active infection in the mouth, as this can easily spread. In the case of untreated cavities, this is a source of decay. The cavity is caused by dental bacteria creating a hole in the tooth, and until this is cleaned and filled, it provides the potential for further spreading of the bacteria or to introduce an infection into the teeth newly improved by your cosmetic dentist.