How Much Does It Cost for Cosmetic Dentistry
This article will go through the various treatments that make up cosmetic dentistry and look at typical costs.
Cosmetic dentistry typically consists of a few different branches of dentistry:
- Teeth straightening.
- Teeth whitening.
- Teeth reshaping.
- Replacing missing teeth.
Many of the techniques to resolve the problems above can actually fix multiple issues so let's look at each of those in turn and find out how much each of them costs.
Teeth straightening.
Teeth can be straightened using a variety of techniques, depending on how crooked the teeth are.
Dental bonding.
Dental bonding can cost from as little as £50 per tooth. It involves the dentist placing a small amount of tooth coloured resin material onto the front surface of the tooth. Dental bonding is particularly useful just straightening mildly crooked teeth by building them forwards into line with the adjacent teeth. It is usually only used for front teeth and often for a single tooth.
Dental veneers.
Dental veneers typically start at around £300 per tooth. They are made by a highly skilled dental technician out of dental ceramic material. The dental veneers bond to the outside surface of your teeth and I extremely strong and durable. Veneers can be used just straightening teeth by building them forwards into line.
Orthodontics.
Orthodontics is one of the most preferred option is to straighten crooked teeth as it doesn't mean the underlying tooth is either covered or slightly removed as in dental bonding and dental veneers. Orthodontic treatments can start from around £1500 for Inman aligner and rapid orthodontics.
Teeth whitening.
Bleaching
The simplest form of this is to have bleaching trays made which cover the surface of your teeth. Into the bleaching tray is placed a hydrogen peroxide gel which gently whitens your teeth. Teeth whitening will not work on crowns, veneers or dental bonding.
Teeth whitening typically starts at around £200 for a single treatment.
Dental bonding and dental veneers
If your teeth are particularly dark then bleaching may not be adequate to lighten the teeth, if this is the case then dental bonding and veneers can be made as white as you like and placed over the surface of your teeth therefore whitening them.
This is not always the preferred option as it may mean that your teeth are more susceptible to dental decay.
Teeth reshaping.
Many people don't like the shape of their teeth, this can be corrected with a variety of techniques.
Gentle re-contouring of the natural teeth can be done by the dentist during your regular appointment, this would normally cost from £100.
Teeth reshaping with dental bonding can also be done, dental veneers can also be used to reshape teeth.
You may decide you want longer, wider, straighter or more curved teeth. Dental veneers or dental crowns can help with this, typically treatment will start at around £300 per tooth for dental veneers or dental crowns.
Replacing missing teeth
Replacing missing teeth is an excellent way to rejuvenate a smile and make it look more attractive. Teeth can be replaced by:
- Dental bridges
- dental implants
- dentures
Dental bridges often involve removal of surrounding tooth tissue to support the abutments which support the new tooth over the gap. Dental bridges typically start at around £300 per tooth and you would normally require three teeth treated in order to replace one single missing tooth (the tooth either side of the gap, including the tooth to be replaced) this means it can cost around £900 to replace a single missing tooth with dental bridges.
Dental implants on the other hand don't require reduction of the adjacent teeth, they are often the preferred option to support bone around where the tooth has been lost. Dental implants start at around £2000 per tooth.
Dentures can also be used to replace missing teeth, gone are the days of horrible dentures which look ugly, modern cosmetic dentures can be made to look exactly like natural teeth, even the gum on dentures can be tinted and coloured to look like your natural gum work.
Dentures cost from around £500.
Summary
as you can see there are a variety of dental techniques included in cosmetic dentistry and it depends on exactly the outcome you are looking for a problem you wish to solve as to which treatment will be write to you.
Always discuss your concerns about the cost with your dentist, many dentists offer finance or staged payments to make the cost of cosmetic dentistry affordable for you.
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