Teeth Reshaping: Ins and Outs
Teeth reshaping treatment (also called teeth contouring or odontoplasty) is an effective and painless method for fixing many dental ailments. During this procedure, your dental professional uses a drill or laser to remove some of your teeth' hard outer layer known as the enamel.
Because enamel is vital to protect the softer insides of your teeth, this procedure is limited by the amount of enamel your dental professional can safely remove without weakening the tooth. If your enamel is thin, teeth shaping may not be a good solution for your needs.
Teeth reshaping can be used to help correct:
- Cosmetic complaints
- Chipping or cracks in your teeth
- Uneven or poorly aligned teeth
- Issues from grinding your teeth (also known as bruxism)
- Imperfections that make it hard to clean between your teeth
Before performing the reshaping, your dental professional will likely employ X-rays to gain more precise insight into the structure of your teeth and guide the procedure. After the reshaping, they will ensure that your bite aligns properly before smoothing and polishing the affected teeth.
It might relieve you to hear that teeth reshaping is often fairly simple and takes under an hour to complete! Because the procedure doesn’t involve your nerves, pulp, or gums, it will typically cause no pain and is typically performed without any numbing agent.
Tooth reshaping is often used in tandem with other methods to address other dental concerns. Read below, and we’ll cover when bonding is used.