Tooth Shaping

One common procedure that dentists perform is tooth shaping and tooth adjustment. This involves removing a small amount of enamel to improve the appearance of a tooth or to adjust a person's bite.  The procedure does not harm the teeth if carefully preformed, but may cause sensitivity in some instances.

Tooth shaping involves removing about 1 or 2 millimeters of the enamel from the tooth. Tooth shaping can shorten long teeth, round off pointed teeth, and help create a pleasing smile that gently follows the contour of the lower lip. The procedure is quick and painless, and is usually completed in less than 20 minutes. Tooth shaping is typically far less expensive than other cosmetic dental procedures.

In some cases, a tooth needs to be adjusted to improve a persons's bite. If the cusp of a tooth is too long or pointed it can damage the tooth it bites against. Teeth can also become sharp over time and begin to irritate the lips or check. These are the most common reasons that a tooth or teeth may need to be adjusted.  In some cases, when teeth are being restored with a crown (cap), veneer or replaced with a bridge (a series of joined crowns), the teeth they bite against may need to be adjusted to make room.

Tooth shaping and adjustments are minor but important procedures and do not cause any long-term damage to the teeth. A small minority of patients gets slight sensitivity after tooth shaping and tooth adjustments. This can be remedied with prescription strength fluoride, in-office desensitizers, or other minor dental procedure.

Tooth Contouring & Re-Shaping

Is there a small defect in your smile that always draws your eye in the mirror? A chip in a front tooth, some worn edges, or shallow pits or grooves in the tooth enamel are all minor issues, but they do stand in the way of having a perfect smile. If you suffer from one or more of these problems -- even to the extent of a minor fracture or overlap -- they all can be fixed using a procedure known as tooth contouring and reshaping. With a polishing instrument, the dentist removes small amounts of surface enamel of one or more teeth to compensate for the imperfections. Followed up with a smoothing and polishing of all the surrounding teeth, this quick, painless, and inexpensive procedure can make a big difference in your smile. Because it is relatively inexpensive and noninvasive, it is a good place to start changing your smile to the one that you have always wanted, but Mother Nature failed to give you.

What are the most common benefits of this procedure?

The goal of tooth contouring and reshaping is to change the size or shape of the teeth so that slightly damaged or out of proportion teeth are brought back into alignment with the rest. In essence a cosmetic procedure, it is most often performed on the upper central, lateral, and canine teeth. Beyond the outward benefits, there are often oral health gains, too, as smoothing the teeth and repairing overlaps can make them easier to clean, reducing the risk of The primary consideration for the suitability of cavities and gum disease. Reshaping can also be used to correct minor problems with bite and function.

What will happen at the initial consultation?

At the initial consultation, the dentist will examine your teeth and determine whether the defects that are present in your smile are sufficiently minor to be corrected using contouring and reshaping. He will also x-ray the teeth to make sure that they are healthy enough to undergo removal of a small amount of the surface enamel.

How is the procedure performed?

Tooth contouring and reshaping takes place generally in one visit to the dentist's office, although a follow-up visit is sometimes necessary. Often the dentist will take a "before" photograph to use as a reference. Then, using various tools, the dentist carefully polishes off small areas of the tooth surface enamel and reforms the tooth into a more attractive shape. The edges of the newly shaped tooth are smoothed and polished, completing the procedure. An "after" photograph is made at this point so the differences can be easily seen. After contouring, the teeth are more uniform in shape and size making them appears less crowded and eye-catching imperfections are gone.

How long does the procedure take?

The length of the procedure is dependent on the amount of changes that are being made to the teeth, but can run from under 30 minutes to over an hour.

How much pain is there?

Because only surface enamel is removed, there is no pain involved with the procedure, so no anesthetic is administered.

What can I expect after the procedure?

Occasionally, there is minor sensitivity to hot and cold for a day or two after the procedure, but this irritation is minor and almost uniformly disappears a short time after the procedure.

What is the recovery period like?

Recovery for almost every patient undergoing tooth contouring or reshaping is instantaneous. You can generally eat immediately after the procedure. The removal of the small amount of enamel does not hurt the tooth nor is it replaced, so no healing is involved.

What is the long-term outcome like for most people?

Tooth contouring permanently changes the shape of the teeth to a more esthetic look. However, if the wearing of the teeth was due to grinding, the same problem can recur.

Ideal Candidate

An ideal candidate would have minor imperfections in their teeth such as small chips, minor unevenness, slight overlaps, shallowly pitted surfaces, or worn biting areas in their teeth. Other indications for the procedure are one or more teeth out of proportion in size to the rest of the set, such as large, pointy canine teeth. Note that reshaping can only occur on healthy teeth, so x-rays are often taken before the procedure is done to check for problems.

Other important information

Keep in mind that tooth contouring and reshaping is a procedure for minor imperfections. Dentists often need to combine this procedure with other work such as veneers, bleaching, crowns or other cosmetic procedures to achieve an optimum result. If multiple procedures are needed and expense is an issue, consider doing the procedures over time. Often contouring is a suggested first step that can make a big difference in how you feel about your smile.

Risks and Limitations

The risks involved in the procedure include the removal of too much enamel, subjecting the tooth to a greater chance of breakage or decay, or reappearance of the problem if it is due to grinding of the teeth. However, seeing an experienced Cosmetic Dentistry virtually eliminates these risks.

Costs

The cost of the procedure is dependent on the amount of reshaping that is necessary, but in almost all cases it is relatively inexpensive compared to other dental work. Generally fees run from about $50 to about $350 per tooth. If the reshaping is necessary because of an accident, your dental insurance might cover it. However, this procedure is usually an elective one and is paid out of pocket.