Shining through the ages
Cosmetic dentistry has existed, in some capacity or another, for thousands of years. Some of the earliest recorded examples of cosmetic dentistry can be dated as far back as the Romans, who had a somewhat bizarre and unorthodox method of whitening their teeth by washing their teeth with urine containing ammonia, which is a natural whitening agent. Whilst this is a far cry from the contemporary cosmetic dentistry in Kings Hill available today, it is interesting to note that the desire to have pearly white teeth is by no stretch a contemporary one.
Trial and error
Over the following centuries, numerous civilisations used the tools and materials afforded to them at each stage in history to attempt to brighten, fill and improve the overall aesthetics of a patient’s teeth. In the 1400s, Europeans created dentures from ivory to fill gaps in a patient’s teeth, however these generally didn’t fuse themselves within the patients’ mouths and were often greatly uncomfortable. In the 1700s human teeth, extracted from cadavers and unfortunate people who needed money, were used as dental implants. However, as with the ivory implants, these were incredibly uncomfortable and generally rejected by the host body. Around 1770, the first porcelain denture was created, however it wasn’t until a decade later that they were actually successfully placed into a patient’s mouth. From that point onward, porcelain dentures became a large part of cosmetic dentistry, and are still utilised today.
Brightening up
It wasn’t until the 1900s that cosmetic dentistry began to come on leaps and bounds, and began to resemble procedures which are available today. In 1989, two dentists named Dr. Heymann and Dr. Haywood had the notion to use carbamide peroxide as a whitening agent to bleach teeth, which is still used today. The 1990s are considered to be the start of modern cosmetic dentistry, and is when the term ‘cosmetic dentistry’ was initially coined. From this point, there was, globally, a large increased focus on the aesthetics of a patient’s smile. Boosting the straightness and whiteness of teeth through cosmetic treatments which were specifically designed to improve the overall appearance of a patient’s teeth, rather than address a structural issue started to gain popularity This is when treatments such as laser whitening first began to be available for commercial usage, as well as when new forms of discreet orthodontic aligners such as Invisalign began to emerge.
Shining on through
Today, one of the most popular methods of cosmetic dentistry available within the Kings Hill area, across all age demographics, is teeth whitening. This is a process which is designed to eradicate years of superficial stains on a patient’s teeth which have been caused by certain lifestyle choices, such as taking certain medications, or smoking, drinking tea, coffee or red wine. The process of undertaking cosmetic teeth whitening from within a dental practice consists of applying a thin layer of a peroxide based whitening agent directly to the patient’s teeth, before then applying a specialist dental UV light. This light activates the bleaching agent within the gel, and can eradicate years of superficial stains on a patient’s teeth almost instantaneously and allow them to walk out of the practice the very same day with a whiter, brighter smile, and the self-confidence to match.