Irvine, Calirfornia

Cosmetic Dentistry

Cosmetic Dentistry for a natural looking smile

Using a variety of modern treatments along with state-of-the-art dental technology, Dr. Levine can minimize flaws and accentuate what makes your smile so beautiful and so distinctly yours. Dr. Levine will work with you to design a plan of treatment that considers every aspect of your smile, including your teeth and gum tissue, as well as your lips, skin tone, hair color and facial features. She aims to boost your confidence, so that you smile more.

Smile Design

Smile Design is the process of transforming the smile through a combination of cosmetic dentistry treatments. A wide variety of problems with the smile can be addressed, including discolored teeth, chipped or cracked teeth, teeth that are too small or too large, missing teeth, and crooked teeth.

Personal factors, such as tooth color, alignment and spacing of the teeth, and missing teeth, are carefully considered during the process of smile design. Dr. Levine combines her artistic eye with top-notch technical skills to carry out each treatment. Depending on which procedures are selected, these may be performed individually during separate appointments or in tandem during a single visit.

Dental Bonding

For patients who have relatively minor problems with one or a few teeth, dental bonding can offer a solution in one easy dental visit. For this procedure, a dentist uses composite resin, which is the same tooth-colored material that’s used in modern fillings. For dental bonding, this material is applied to a tooth without drilling first. Composite resin can be color-matched to any tooth and looks like a natural part of the tooth.

It can be used to repair chipped or cracked teeth, to make a tooth that’s too small look larger, to cover a stain on a tooth that has been resistant to removal with whitening agents, or to create the appearance of well-aligned teeth in teeth that are slightly crooked.

Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain veneers can refresh the entire smile at once. These thin shells are bonded to the teeth to mask a variety of imperfections, including small chips, cracks, stains, discoloration, and uneven shape or size. Although they are thin, veneers are extremely durable and can last for many years with the proper care. Their color and translucency closely mimic that of tooth enamel, so the resulting smile looks completely natural.

Each patient is fitted for customized veneers, to create the desired shape, size, color and texture for each tooth. By placing a full set of veneers on the visible teeth, the entire smile can be refreshed in just two dental visits. At the first visit, Dr. Levine will consult with you about your desires and needs, prepare the teeth, and take the necessary impressions. These are sent to a dental laboratory, where your veneers are fabricated by expert technicians. Once Dr. Levine receives them, you’ll have your second appointment to place your new veneers. The result will be a gorgeous smile that looks totally natural.

Crowns

A crown is a porcelain shell that fits around a tooth. It is designed to closely mimic the shape, size, color, and texture of a natural healthy tooth, so it will look natural in the mouth. Sometimes crowns are used for cosmetic purposes, but they are often used in restorative dentistry.

A crown can be placed to strengthen a tooth that has cracked or fractured. Crowns are also placed on teeth that have been weakened through having had a large filling or a root canal. Sometimes referred to as “caps,” these restorations fit over the entire surface of the tooth. They are custom-fabricated to match the surrounding teeth for a seamless result.

Bridges

A dental bridge is designed to fill the gap left by a missing tooth. A traditional fixed bridge is composed of an artificial tooth, called a pontic, which is held in place by two dental crowns, which are placed over the teeth adjacent to the gap. Like crowns, bridges are custom-created for each individual patient.