Teeth Whitening to Braces – Cosmetic Dentistry
Cosmetic dentistry covers a lot of ground. It can be anything from braces to teeth whitening. Usually dental insurance won’t cover a cosmetic procedure unless it’s necessary for the patients health. An example would be if an adolescent had to have braces to avoid major problems as an adult. Many times braces are used to correct a problem that is much more involved than "crooked teeth". If a person’s jaw line is off by a large enough margin, that persons teeth would wear unnaturally and cause abnormal wear and tear on the teeth. That specific patients braces would most likely be partially covered by a dental plan. Procedures that are overtly cosmetic such as teeth whitening and veneers are usually not covered.
Braces are one cosmetic dental procedure that has really changed a great deal over the last 3 decades. I had braces myself and I remember how much I hated them. It was 1970, I was 13 and just about to graduate from grammer school. My Mom had my braces put on 1 week before my graduation ceremonty. I was mortified. Why couldn’t it wait till after I graduated. I’ll never understand that one Mom. Anyway, I remember each tooth in my whole entire mouth had a silver band around it with a threader on the front of each band. The wires were threaded through each threader on each tooth and tied off in the back. Talk about a mouth full of metal! Now it is much more reasonable, and much less painful. I think the worst part was the spacers. Before you even get the braces on, they put these little wire springs between each tooth to push them apart just enough to get two bands on the teeth right next to one another. I couldn’t eat, they bled like a siv and it was awful. I remember if my bottom teeth touched my top teeth, it was excruciating. My teeth were moving and became ultra sensitive. As soon as the spacers were removed the pain disappeared. But then came the braces. Today braces don’t have a band around each tooth. They cement the threader on the tooth, or they use the rubberized plastic bands. Much less invasive.
Another cosmetic dental procedure that’s extremely popular is teeth whitening. You have to be careful though, some of the over the counter whiteners have too much bleach/peroxide, and it eats away at the enamel which is what protects your teeth from decay. The teeth can become very very sensitive to hot and cold foods and liquids as well. The more bleaching agent used, the more drastic the whitening. It used to be that you had to go see a dentist to get your teeth whitened. Now you can buy teeth whiteners by the makers of every brand of toothpaste. If they market toothpaste, they probably market a teeth whitener. A clean healthy bright smile makes a person feel good about their appearance, and it should. Nothing makes a bigger first impression than a persons smile.
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Tags: cosmetic dentistry, dental braces, dental coverage, dental insurance, dental plans, teeth whitening, veneers