While cosmetic dentistry improves the appearance of your teeth, some procedures can also improve their physical condition and future health. Tooth contouring falls into this category.
How does this procedure work? What are its benefits?
What Is Tooth Contouring?
Contouring reshapes and fixes problem areas on teeth. Dentists use different tools and procedures in this work depending on the problem and its severity.
For example, they might use a drill, sanding tool, or laser to remove tiny amounts of enamel to reshape a tooth. They might also use bonding resins to fill gaps or chips.
Contouring can fix various problems. You can use it to smooth out an uneven tooth surface, to trim an overlong tooth, or to make pointed teeth look more rounded.
These treatments also work well if you have a small chip or jagged wear on a tooth. Here, your dentist can smooth and fill the area with resin. You can also sometimes use contouring to fill smaller gaps between teeth or to correct minor overlapping misalignments.
What Are the Advantages of Tooth Contouring?
People often use tooth contouring to improve the cosmetic appearance of their teeth. For example, if you have one tooth that is slightly longer than the others, then you'll be self-conscious about your smile. Your dentist can shave the tooth down safely to make it the same size as the rest.
In some cases, contouring gives you an alignment fix when braces aren't a suitable option. You might not want to wear full braces just to fill a tiny but visible gap between two teeth. Here, a contour will fill the gap for you in one appointment without the cost of having to wear braces for months.
However, tooth contouring doesn't just have cosmetic benefits. These procedures can also protect teeth from future damage. If you have a chip smoothed down or filled with resin, then you restore a weakened area of the tooth. The tooth might get more damaged over time if you leave it as it is.
Or, reshaping a crooked tooth to make it sit in line with your other teeth can reduce the chances you'll get a cavity. It's hard to clean the edges of a protruding tooth and the parts of a neighboring tooth it hides from view. These areas are more likely to suffer from bacterial buildups that cause decay. If you recontour the tooth to make it sit evenly in your mouth, then it is easier to clean and less likely to develop problems.
If you think that contouring could work well on one or more of your teeth, ask your dentist for advice.
