Aesthetic dentistry

The treatments concerned with how a smile looks — whitening, bonding, reshaping, gum contouring and replacing old work that no longer matches — chosen to suit the individual mouth.

What it is

Aesthetic dentistry covers the treatments whose purpose is appearance. Often the least invasive option is the right one, and a good deal can be achieved without touching healthy tooth structure at all: professional cleaning removes surface stain, whitening lightens the tooth itself, and careful polishing of a jagged edge can transform a front tooth in ten minutes.

Whitening works through a peroxide gel that lifts stain from within the tooth. Done professionally, with trays made to fit and a strength chosen for your teeth, it is predictable and the sensitivity it causes is temporary. It does not change the colour of crowns, veneers or fillings — which is why existing work sometimes has to be replaced afterwards to match, and why the order of treatment matters.

Composite bonding rebuilds chipped edges, closes small gaps and reshapes teeth, usually in a single visit and often without drilling. It is reversible in a way veneers are not, and for younger patients especially it is frequently the better first step.

The gums frame the teeth, and sometimes they are the actual problem. A smile where a lot of gum shows, or where the gum line is uneven, can be improved by reshaping it. That is a surgical procedure with healing time, and it needs healthy gums to begin with.

You may need this if…

• Teeth that look yellow or grey
• Stains from tea, coffee, tobacco or paan
• Chipped, jagged or uneven edges
• Small gaps between front teeth
• A gum line that is uneven, or a smile showing a lot of gum
• Old fillings or crowns that no longer match the neighbouring teeth

What happens, step by step

1. What is actually bothering you

   Named specifically, with photographs. 'I don't like my smile' becomes something that can be treated.

2. Health check first

   Decay, gum disease and grinding treated before appearance. Whitening inflamed gums or decayed teeth is not sensible.

3. The least invasive option

   Cleaning, whitening and polishing considered before anything that removes tooth structure.

4. Treatment

   Whitening, bonding, reshaping or gum contouring as planned — and in the right sequence, since whitening must come before any matching work.

5. Matching existing work

   Crowns and fillings do not whiten. Where they now stand out, replacing them is planned in after whitening has settled.

6. Review

   A check on the result and on gum health once everything has settled.

Looking after it afterwards

• For the first 48 hours after whitening, avoid strongly coloured food and drink.
• Whitening sensitivity is temporary; a desensitising toothpaste helps.
• Results fade gradually; a short top-up every year or two maintains them.
• Cut down on the things that stained the teeth in the first place, or the result will not last.

Questions people actually ask

This page is general information about aesthetic dentistry. It is not advice about your own mouth — for that you need to be examined.