Dental health is important. Adopting a responsible, thorough dental care regimen, including regular visits to your dentists, is one critical component of a long and healthy life. However, many patients care about more than just how their teeth feel and function – they care about how they look.

If someone is going to notice your teeth, it should be because they are impressed. After all, a smile is often the first thing a new friend, colleague, or romantic connection will notice about you. Cosmetic dental services can improve your smile and help you make the best first impression possible.

What Is Cosmetic Dentistry?

Cosmetic dentistry offers patients a wide variety of solutions for an even wider assortment of aesthetic concerns. Because every patient’s teeth are different, the best cosmetic services are uniquely tailored to meet your needs specifically. Dental attributes that tend to fall under the umbrella of “cosmetic challenges” include discoloration, misshapen teeth, cracks, and chips. Treatment options span a number of procedures like teeth whitening programs, veneers, crowns, bondings, Invisalign, and more.

Cosmetic Dentistry Benefits

If cosmetic dentistry is not directly tied to dangerous or uncomfortable health conditions, then why is it such large, respected field of medicine? It turns out correcting aesthetic flaws can yield concrete, positive impacts (beyond just looking nicer in pictures). There are actually many benefits to undergoing cosmetic dental treatment, which may surprise you:

• Cosmetic dental work can make you look younger. Discoloration and dental erosion are two of the most common visible effects of getting older. Many folks obsess over thinning hair and wrinkles but overlook their mouths. People often perceive great teeth as one of the more immediate indicators of overall health and vitality. As such, correcting discoloration, dental erosion, and similar changes to your teeth can take years off of how old you appear.
• Cosmetic dentistry can prevent future damage to your teeth. Cosmetic treatment programs explicitly target issues with your teeth’s appearance. However, procedures like bonding actually have a secondary benefit – they strengthen your teeth themselves. By correcting a small flaw early (like worn edges or a visible hairline fracture), your dentist is also mitigating the threat of future wear and tear in the already-compromised area.
• Cosmetic procedures can boost your confidence. In a perfect world, we would only judge each other on the content of our character. However, in the real one, confidence and charm matter. It can be difficult to boldly put your best foot forward when you are distracted by your own appearance. With a more confident smile, however, patients find they approach life’s special events like weddings, reunions, and other important moments with renewed gusto.
• Cosmetic dentistry can even accelerate your career success. Looking presentable in the workplace often falls within the realm of “professionalism,” in part because looking smart helps prevent distractions. A visibly stained tooth can thus have much the same effect as a visibly stained shirt. Further, if you’re embarrassed by your smile, the odds are that you are somewhat holding back. Fortunately, cosmetic dentistry can help you appear happier, seem more approachable, and (most importantly) overcome your inhibitions. The same confidence that helps you command the room at a party can also help you impress at work.