This patient was in her sixties at the time I had the privilege of caring for her smile. She was tired of the color of her teeth, which had been darkening over the years. She was also quite unhappy with the dark triangles (spaces near the gums) that had formed between her teeth and the overall "worn" appearance of her teeth.
After using computer imaging to verify that a change in the shape of the teeth would be appropriate, her concerns were corrected by removing all the old, worn fillings and placing porcelain veneers, made of Empress 1 porcelain.
The close up view shows just how much wear and tear had actually taken place on her natural teeth. Of course, the improvement is just as apparent!
In this situation, the tooth enamel had been worn away, exposing the darker, and softer, dentin. Again, using Empress 1 porcelain veneers, I restored her teeth to their original shape and size.
The devastation you see here was the direct result of years of smokeless tobacco. The acid ate away at the teeth, leaving behind dark stained stumps.
I think this case shows that it's almost never too late to restore a smile. While much more was involved than simple veneers, as used in the above cases, this proves that, with today's technology, there is always hope.
The case shows the result of replacing old porcelain-fused-to-gold crowns (PFG) with all Empress 1 porcelain. The dark color of the tooth roots and gums was actually caused by the metal core under the porcelain of the crowns.
Teeth behave somewhat like fiber optics. When light enters the tooth, it illuminates the entire tooth, including the root of the tooth. When the tooth is covered with a metal core, light cannot reach the tooth, resulting in a dark root. In this case, that apparent dark tooth root made the gums look dark as well.
All that was needed here was to replace the PFGs with Empress 1 all porcelain crowns. Immediately upon removal of the old crowns, light was able to strike the tooth and the normal color of the gums returned.
This was a rather interesting situation. The laboratory made a mini "snow-capped" crown that was designed to replace only the missing portion of the tooth, which I in turn bonded to the tooth.
Because the "snow-cap" was made of all-porcelain, this patient will never have to worry about a dark line (similar to the previous case) showing up in a few years. And that's important because this patient was my wife!
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Smile Designers of Las Vegas
5670 West Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, NV 89103
Phone: 866.727.4762