Many of us who wish the dentist to be invisible when it's time for an annual check up will at least be consoled about the fact that today, modern cosmetic dentistry has brought a number of new technologies to market, including dental implants, tooth colored fillings, veneers and the new invisible Invisalign system, successful in providing new smiles to patients everywhere.

An invisible method of straightening teeth without braces, is known as Invisalign, custom-molded aligners to solve a range of issues, including: crossbites, underbites, overbites, crowded teeth, or even wide spaces in between the teeth. The system uses a series of clear removable aligners to move your teeth without metal wires or brackets. Unobtrusive in social or business gatherings, there are no metal wires or bands to irritate the mouth. Most people won't notice you even have them on.

Proceedures like this fit any lifestyle, offering comfort, convenience and virtual invisibility during treatment. Patients can be as active as they want and they can even remove their aligners for special events, eating or any reason.

Dental professionals are now specializing in dental implants where a new standard of care is emerging and teeth can now be restored for aethetics and functionality. Dental implants can also help people with increased chewing capacity, and improved speech in addition to their appearance. However dental implants are not for people seeking new teeth in an hour; they take time.

There are also new procedures that are being adopted rapidly in children's dentistry and they are especially favored by parents of squeamish children. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) used to recommend that the first visit to the dentist be at three years of age. Now, because so many children have cavities by the time they start kindergarten, the AAP states that high risk children should see a dentist six months after their first tooth erupts or before they are 12 months old. In this field, continuing research spawns new developments daily, including anesthesia techniques today make it easier to perform surgery in the dental office without discomfort to patients.

Whether you are in Los Angeles or New York, or be it cosmetic dentistry, veneers, teeth whitening, Invisalign or dental implants, you can rest assured that today, thanks to new technologies, the pain may just be as invisible as the procedure.