Most people only get cold and horrible shivers down their spine when they think about a dentist. Perhaps it is some childhood fear or perhaps the media and their portrayal of the dental trade is to blame but whatever the case may be, many people have only one emotion when it comes to dentists – fear. But dentistry is not all about drilling holes in people’s teeth and filling them up or removing rotten teeth for the overall improvement of your oral health. There is a discipline in dentistry that is much like plastic surgery except focused on the mouth. Irvine cosmetic dentist Raymond Choi is one such dentist.

The idea of something like cosmetic dentistry may at first sound a little odd, but the fact of the matter is that it does exist and generally has the same purpose behind it has cosmetic or plastic surgery. It is generally the discipline that encompasses a range of techniques that seek to modify a person’s teeth in such a way as to get them closer to what the patient believes is visually appealing. Like all other dentistry it is also involved in general oral hygiene and the prevention and cure of various oral diseases and infections, but its main focus is on the aesthetic look of a person’s teeth in conjunction with the normal things. Irvine cosmetic dentist, Raymond Choi can offer a whole range of treatments, though there is some that are generally considered to be part of cosmetic dentistry.

The one thing that most people consider when thinking of cosmetic dentistry is teeth whitening. This is the very simple process of cleaning and bleaching a person’s teeth. It remains one of the most prescribed treatments and while there are a number of products available on the market that can assists, the treatment offered by a professional dentist like Irvine cosmetic dentist Raymond Choi remains on the best. Another treatment that is available is enamel shaping, which involves the sculpting and shaping of a person’s tooth or teeth to a more pleasing shape. This can be done to repair small chips or to create desired effect. The process is irreversible, however, as enamel is literally chipped off of a person’s teeth.

Closely related to enamel shaping is a technique that is called bonding. This used to repair broken or chipped teeth by applying a composite enamel-like material to the teeth. This material is shaped, hardened and polished to the desired look and effect. Finally veneers are very thin laminates that are bonded directly to the teeth to help alleviate discoloring or to try and correct teeth that did not respond well or at all to the usual whitening or bleaching effects mentioned above. These are four very basic approaches to cosmetic dentistry that Irvine cosmetic dentist, Raymond Choi, can perform. There are many, much more complicated procedures as well and just like plastic surgery, a skilled cosmetic dentist can help to give you the smile that you have always dreamed of.