At Wasatch Dental, watching patients see their brilliant new smile for the first time is the highlight of our day. Sometimes referred to as instant orthodontics, veneers can dramatically transform your smile. A set of veneers can correct chips, stains, and even deeply discolored teeth. But they can also alter the length and size of teeth or help give the appearance of a straight tooth where there is not. While it may sound dramatic, it isn’t. Veneers provide a highly conservative approach to esthetic smile makeovers.

Veneers are the ultimate combination of dental art and science, handcrafted and customized to fit your smile. These paper-thin pieces of porcelain bond to the outside of your natural teeth. But just because they’re thin, don't be fooled. Veneers are highly versatile and can replicate all the complex nuances of a natural tooth.

Good Planning Paves the Way

There’s a lot of diagnostic work and careful planning that goes into a treatment plan that includes veneers. Models, photographs, and digital x-rays allow you and the doctor to create a perfect blueprint to guide your treatment from start to finish. Like all successful projects, this planning can't be compromised. Dr. Andrew Olson will consider your input and incorporate your desires into your veneer case, from color to shape and everything in between.

The Next Steps

Once the doctor plans your case, it will take around two appointments before you leave with a stunning new smile. At the first visit, the teeth are gently prepared to allow space for the ultra-thin porcelain to be crafted by a master lab technician.

The doctor will create temporary restorations that mimic the veneers, which you’ll wear for up to three weeks. These temporaries provide a preview of your new smile and lets you try it out to see if any further changes are needed.

Delivering the Magic

After your veneers have been masterfully crafted to our doctor's specific instructions, you'll return for a second appointment. Dr. Andrew Olson will try in each veneer and evaluate the appearance and fit. He will go through several steps to precisely bond the thin veneers to the surface of your teeth, creating an incredibly strong bond between tooth and porcelain. Minor adjustments to your bite and a final polish will leave you with a smile that may have you wondering why you waited so long to find Wasatch Dental.

Modern dentistry offers more options than ever to help you restore and maintain an optimal level of health. While the strength and beauty of materials continue to advance, the skill of the practitioner makes a significant difference. Dr. Andrew Olson uses the latest techniques, bringing even the most damaged mouths back to full health.

Sometimes teeth are damaged because of cavities, heavy bite forces, or trauma. If a root canal is needed to salvage a compromised nerve, the tooth may be especially fragile. Dental crowns, or caps, allow these teeth to be rebuilt and covered with materials that mimic nature. Not only are most “capped” teeth indistinguishable from natural teeth, but they're also extremely secure and comfortable.

Crowns can be crafted to repair a single tooth, multiple teeth (including the entire mouth), or in conjunction with dental implants to fill a space. In fact, when missing teeth enter the equation, special consideration might be given to placing a dental bridge or implants.

One Simple Step

Today's technology allows us to simplify the delivery of a crown into just one appointment. After gentle shaping of the tooth, detailed digital images captured by a computer give us the data we need to design your new restoration. In just a few minutes, powerful software coupled with our training creates a crown milled from the finest porcelain available. Once we bond your new crown firmly into place, you'll be on your way!

Cavities and small fractures can cause much larger issues if left untreated. In the past, metal restorations called amalgam fillings (or silver fillings) served a need but left many teeth discolored and strained from the wedging effect of the metal. Today, tooth-colored composite resins blend into the tooth structure and are chemically bonded to the tooth providing a strong, permanent restoration.

Composites serve both functional and aesthetic roles, often at the same time. For example, a cavity invading the front of a tooth along the gum line may be visible in your smile line. By gently cleaning out the soft, discolored area and replacing it with a tooth-colored filling, the tooth is restored and looks better than ever.

Composites contain a mix of liquid resin embedded with finely ground glass particles. After being molded to the prepared tooth structure, a blue light applied directly to the composite hardens the filling material within seconds. Once it’s shaped and polished to a high shine, the restoration is complete.

Older children usually have a tray loaded with foam fluoride placed in their mouths for a specific amount of time along with a suction straw to remove any foam overflow and saliva. When the time is up, your child is told not to eat or drink for at least 30 minutes to allow the fluoride to work.

Dr. Andrew Olson and his hygiene team are happy to answer all your questions about fluoride treatments and treatment options.

When we consider the options to preserve even a single broken tooth, we take a conservative approach. Fortunately, modern dental materials allow us to rebuild teeth to full function while maintaining as much natural tooth structure as possible.

Sometimes teeth suffer damage because of normal function over time, cavities, heavy bite forces, and trauma. While teeth may need to be fully “capped” with a dental crown, some smaller fractures can be perfectly restored with an onlay. A crown requires a little more tooth preparation, but onlays allow the unbroken portions of a tooth to be left uncut. A custom piece of porcelain, like a partial crown, is bonded to the damaged area.

Onlays blend seamlessly with the natural enamel and enhance both function and appearance. When the most conservative choice fits your treatment plan, Dr. Andrew Olson may suggest an onlay.

If you're confident, you smile more. If you smile more, you feel more confident. But what if you don't want to flash your smile because you're embarrassed by discolored teeth?

Teeth whitening removes years of dingy stains from your teeth. Coffee, tea, wine, tobacco, and chocolate can dull tooth enamel. Simple and safe, most patients don't realize how discolored their teeth are until they see a new smile emerge.

Numerous whitening products crowd supermarket shelves. While we don't discourage these methods, you may want to consider the advantages of professional whitening:

• Customized system: We make trays that fit your teeth perfectly. Flexible, thin plastic follows the shape of your teeth allowing the whitening gel to coat all tooth surfaces evenly. This means consistent whitening with less overflow of the gel onto your gums.

• Controlled gel formulas: We use the highest quality whitening formulas available for safety and consistency: professional strength with careful quality control from known sources. Beware of temperature-sensitive gels stored in uncontrolled environments or made in an unknown setting.

• Sensitivity management: You may experience temporary sensitivity in your teeth while whitening. We have specific strategies for you to use and will customize the product and method to help you have a comfortable and safe whitening experience.

• Long-term results: Buying a box of whitening strips every few months adds up. With one set of custom trays, you'll have a system that should fit for years. A simple refill syringe of gel picked up occasionally from our office allows you to keep your smile fresh for years to come.

Teeth whitening offers a predictable boost to your confidence through the power of a smile. Your Wasatch Dental team draws on years of experience to help deliver whitening results that are safe and comfortable.

Many factors come together to create a perfect smile. Healthy pink gums form a stark contrast to the white teeth, framing the tooth's natural beauty.

Sometimes one small area of gum can detract from an otherwise pleasant smile. The scalloped flow may be uneven, or a thick area may protrude unnaturally, causing a visual distraction.

Just as a piece of art benefits from reframing, gums can be contoured to complement the smile. Fortunately, laser technology often makes this procedure quick, painless, and dramatic. The results can be seen immediately, and after a few days of healing, your gums look perfectly natural. In some cases, more extensive contouring may be discussed. Dr. Andrew Olson evaluates many factors before deciding which approach will give you the most beautiful smile.