Shore Acres Veneers, Whitening, Crowns and Gum Contouring
What does cosmetic dentistry include?
Cosmetic dentistry at North Harbor Dentistry covers teeth whitening, porcelain veneers, composite fillings, gum contouring, porcelain crowns, dental onlays, ClearCorrect aligners and Botox. Which one you need depends entirely on what’s bothering you, so it helps to know what each one actually does:
- Teeth whitening — for teeth that have darkened or stained over the years, in office or with a take-home system.
- Porcelain veneers — thin custom porcelain bonded to the front of a tooth to change its shape, width or color.
- Composite fillings — tooth-colored composite bonded onto a chip, a gap or a worn edge and polished smooth in a single visit.
- Gum contouring — reshaping the gum line when a tooth looks short or uneven because of where the gum sits rather than because of the tooth.
- Porcelain crowns — full coverage for a tooth that is cracked, worn or heavily filled.
- Dental onlays — a partial crown, for a break too large for a filling but not large enough to cover the whole tooth.
- ClearCorrect — clear removable aligners that gradually move crowded or gapped teeth without brackets or wires.
- Botox — facial treatment, and for patients who clench and grind, injections into the jaw-closing muscles that can help with the pain that comes with it.
Crowns are worth a note. We scan the tooth and make the porcelain crown here in the office, so in most cases you get the finished crown the same day, with no temporary and no second appointment.
How does a smile consultation work?
A smile consultation starts with the one thing you would change about your smile. Drs. Matt and Justine Priess ask that first, because the thing a patient notices in photographs is often not the thing a dentist would flag first, and the plan should answer your question rather than ours.
Then we look at health before appearance: an exam and charting for cavities, fractures, wear and missing teeth, a gum disease screening, and digital X-rays, which give exquisite detail with dramatically reduced radiation exposure. A cracked or decayed tooth is dealt with before it is whitened or veneered. You’ll leave knowing what each step involves and in what order, with a financial plan gone over before you agree to anything. If dental work makes you anxious, nitrous oxide is available.
Why a cosmetic plan is usually staged
Very few smile plans happen in one appointment, and the order matters more than most people expect.
- Whitening generally comes first. Porcelain and composite don’t lighten, so any veneer, crown or filling is matched to your teeth at their final shade.
- Gum contouring often comes before veneers or crowns, when the gum line rather than the tooth is what’s making a tooth look short or crooked.
- ClearCorrect sometimes comes before restorative work. Moving a tooth into a better position can mean less porcelain, or none at all.
- Repair and replacement — fillings, extractions, implants — are handled early, because cosmetic work sits on top of them.
Staging also means you can stop at a natural point, live with the result for a while, and decide later whether to carry on.
Where to start
If you’re not sure which of these applies to you, that’s normal, and sorting it out is the consultation’s job. Bring the specific thing that bothers you — a dark front tooth, a chip, a gap, a gummy smile, teeth that have worn shorter — and we’ll go through the options with you, including leaving it alone.
Call North Harbor Dentistry at (253) 851-4025 to set up a visit. We’re at 14315 62nd Ave NW in Gig Harbor, and walk-ins are welcome. We serve Gig Harbor, Purdy, Key Center, Fox Island, Port Orchard and the wider Tacoma Narrows area.