Cosmetic Dentistry, From Zoom!® Teeth Whitening to Porcelain Veneers – Near St. Louis
Dr. Gary Drake understands the emphasis that society places on beautiful, sparkling teeth – most Americans agree that a dazzling smile is important to making good first impressions in business and social settings. To help those who may have less-than-perfect teeth, Dr. Drake offers several cosmetic remedies, including Zoom!® teeth whitening and porcelain veneers, to patients in Belleville, St. Louis, and surrounding communities.
Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers can correct a number of problems commonly experienced by our St. Louis and Belleville area patients, including discolored, chipped, fractured, or crooked teeth. In just two office visits, Dr. Drake can create a beautiful smile with porcelain veneers.
During the first step of your treatment, Dr. Drake will prepare your teeth for the porcelain veneers. He accomplishes this by gently removing about a half millimeter of enamel from the front of each tooth to be treated. Then, he will take impressions of your teeth and surrounding gums; these impressions will be sent to a lab so your porcelain veneers can be custom-crafted. You will also be fitted with temporary veneers to ensure a beautiful, natural-looking appearance between your visits.
When your porcelain veneers return from the lab two to three weeks later, they will be applied to your teeth using strong dental bonding cement and your new smile will be ready to show off!
Following the placement of your porcelain veneers, your teeth should be professionally cleaned three or four times yearly. With regular maintenance, porcelain veneers from the St. Louis area practice of Dr. Drake will last for years to come.
For more severely discolored or damaged teeth, full-coverage ceramic crowns may be needed. These same all porcelain crowns can also be used to correct misaligned or crooked teeth to create a beautiful smile without orthodontics. For more information on these options, please contact our office today.
Zoom!® Teeth Whitening
In many cases, all that teeth need to look their most attractive is to have years’ worth of stains lifted off. Dr. Gary Drake offers Zoom!® teeth whitening to his St. Louis and Belleville patients as the most convenient and effective in-office teeth whitening option available. This revolutionary system has even been featured on Oprah !
The main benefit of Zoom!® teeth whitening is that it provides immediate results. In about an hour and a half, patients can enjoy a remarkably brighter smile. Even deep yellow and brown stains can be considerably reduced with Zoom!® teeth whitening, creating a beautiful, youthful, and healthy appearance.
At the beginning of the procedure, Dr. Drake's staff will apply the Zoom!® gel onto your teeth. Then a curing lamp will be positioned over your mouth, and all you have to do is relax and watch TV for the duration of your treatment. The lamp activates the hydrogen peroxide in the gel, which gently lifts stains from the surface of the tooth enamel.
Once the treatment is complete, a short fluoride treatment will be administered, and then you’ll be ready to admire your whiter, healthier looking teeth.
Additionally, Dr. Drake offers laser whitening with the BIOLASE LaserSmile™ system.
At-Home Teeth Whitening
In addition to the in-office Zoom!® teeth whitening procedure, Dr. Drake offers teeth whitening kits to patients at his St. Louis area practice who would prefer to whiten their teeth in the comfort of their homes.
You might have tried the over the counter products and they may or may not have worked. The bleach gel Dr. Drake offers is a much stronger product, and unlike Crest Strips and other OTC options, the bleach gel in the at-home system completely surrounds each tooth and is held securely in place by custom trays.
An office visit is required so Dr. Drake can take impressions to create bleaching trays that precisely fit your teeth. Depending on how much whitening is desired, you will need to use the trays between three and 10 times, for an hour and a half each time. After treatment, it is recommended that you maintain your white teeth by having regular professional cleanings.
Whether you choose Zoom!®, laser, or at-home teeth whitening, please contact the Belleville office of Dr. Drake today.
Cosmetic Resin Bonding
Cosmetic bonding is an excellent single-visit option for teeth that are chipped, discolored, or separated by gaps. For this procedure, Dr. Drake bonds a durable tooth-colored resin directly to the tooth’s surface, then carefully shapes it to fill in any unwanted chips or gaps.
As with porcelain veneers, the resin will be cured with a high intensity halogen LED lamp. Because the resin needs to be matched to the color of surrounding teeth and does not respond to whitening treatments, many patients elect to have their teeth whitened before cosmetic bonding. Be sure to discuss your goals with Dr. Drake in order to ensure the best possible outcome.
CEREC® – Implant Restorations and More
One of the advantages of getting dental implants, fillings, and crowns at the office of Dr. Drake is that he offers the convenience of single visit dentistry. Using the advanced CEREC® CAD-CAM computer system, Dr. Drake can create custom-fitted restorations, including crowns, inlays, and onlays, in one simple office visit.
The CEREC® system utilizes a small camera and computer-aided design and milling technology to sculpt a natural-looking restoration that blends perfectly with surrounding teeth. The digital method eliminates the need for impressions, temporary work, a second office visit, and extra shots. Additionally, you do not have to wait two to three weeks for the lab to create your restoration.
CEREC® technology provides fast, durable, and comfortable results while improving overall appearance and function. With a precisely designed and color-matched porcelain or resin restoration created with the on-site CEREC® system, patients can enjoy beautiful, healthy-looking smiles for years to come.
Your smile is the first thing that people see when they meet you. Why not put your best face forward by taking advantage of all that cosmetic dentistry has to offer? Whether for cosmetic bonding, Zoom!® teeth whitening, or porcelain veneers, thousands of St. Louis and Belleville area residents have trusted Dr. Drake with their smiles for over 30 years. Contact the office of Dr. Gary Drake today to schedule a consultation.
