HOW IS A COSMETIC DENTIST DIFFERENT FROM A GENERAL DENTIST?
A cosmetic dentist has experience and special training which has taught them how to create a whole smile that is esthetically pleasing. A cosmetic dentist usually is a general dentist who has taken hundreds of hours of advanced training. This training specifically addresses the complex issues of tooth size, shape, position, color, and overall proportion to the patient’s facial shape. Skin color, eye color, gum tissue, lip contour, phonetics (speech), function – all must be taken into consideration at each step of the process. Cosmetic dentists study the art of facial appearance with the same intensity as a portrait artist or a sculptor. The general dentist without cosmetic training frequently solves a single tooth problem – one tooth at a time. The cosmetic dentist puts that one tooth in the context of the patient’s complete facial appearance. The cosmetic results when properly done should look natural – as if the teeth were untouched.
