We can paraphrase one old widespread to state: ?An apple a day keeps the dentist away?. What happens if one apple is no longer enough for your dental care? What happens if, when you smile in your bathroom mirror, you notice that your teeth are stained, crooked, chipped, or simply missing? It is a good thing that there is one perfect solution for all these and many other problems: cosmetic dentistry.

Surveys conducted by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry showed that, throughout the last decade, this particular branch of dentistry has evolved into a thriving and successful industry. The ultimate goal of the modern day Americans seems to be the cosmetic enhancement that grants them an amazing straight, white, even smile. Dentistry undergone for cosmetic purposes offers a wide range of procedures, with pros and cons for each of them. The patients can get the smile they dreamed of in no more than two visits to the dentist's office. Not only is it possible for them to get a completely metamorphosed smile, but also with the advanced care provided by the cosmetic dentistry, everyone can expect to have a comfortable pain-free procedure the results of which are more than attractive.

The risks associated with cosmetic dentistry are very few if any, keeping in mind though that it might be possible for some of the patients to experience minor discomfort immediately after the completion of the procedure and that it takes some time to grow used with the new smile. In addition, such cosmetic dental procedures may vary in cost from $300 to $35,000, depending on their complexity or on the skill level of the doctor. What makes it more costly than general dentistry is the higher quality of the services provided and, not in the least, the fact that dental insurance does not cover cosmetic treatments. Also, the materials used in cosmetic dentistry, such as porcelain veneers, porcelain inlays and on-lays, as well as other non-metal dental materials, are more expensive but at the same time, safer, stronger, longer lasting.

In the makeover enhancement of your smile, the cosmetic dentist uses special procedures from teeth whitening to a complete set of veneers, crowns, implants and orthodontics. Teeth whitening treatments make the most common dental procedure used in this area of dentistry, with a 300% growth during a research period of 5 years (1996 to 2000), according to statistics. Doctors confess that, presently, patients prefer in-office dental whitening rather than use at-home products. Nonetheless, we all should know the dental whitening options made available in order to be able to choose the one that best suits us.

Experts agree in presenting three general approaches in the whitening procedure, namely whitening toothpastes (also called dentifrices), at-home bleaching, and in-office bleaching. All toothpastes with whitening effect will remove surface stains only, while over-the-counter and professional products act not only on the tooth surface, but also deep in the tooth. The efficiency of whitening toothpastes does not even come close to the bleaching effect you can get from your dentist's office.

Laser bleaching is such an in-office procedure with systematic results, using different concentrations of laser light to activate the brushed-on bleaching solution. However, laser bleaching is not worthwhile if you have old dental work, as it will not bleach bonding. If choosing the at-home bleaching approach, there are four types of products to choose from, such as over-the-counter teeth whitening strips; over-the-counter bleaching gels; over-the-counter tray-based bleaching systems (with products purchased by yourself) and dentist supervised tray-based whitening procedure, in which case the whitening supplies are procured through your dentist's office. Teeth bleaching strips and gels have initial results in a few days and final results sustained for about for months but the degree of whitening achieved is much lower than the results attained with in-office or dentist supervised whitening procedure.

Moreover, teeth whitening over-the-counter products deprive you from the close supervision of your dentist to keep an eye on the progress of the development of the whitening process and rummage around for signs of gum irritation. In short, teeth whitening strips and gels are considerably less expensive (ranging from $10 to about $55) than the in-office whitening procedures, which can rocket up to $800 or more.