Along with so much of modern life, dentistry has become high-tech. Lasers and computers have transformed the old dentistry that our grandparents knew.

Besides this, dentists have done a sterling job of educating the public, so that now most of us brush and floss regularly and go for our annual or biannual checkup and professional cleaning. This has greatly reduced our need for dental repair services and instead allows us to move forward into the area of cosmetic dentistry.

The beauty of porcelain

Light interacts with our tooth enamel in a certain way, such that our teeth look pearly and have an attractive sheen. How does this work? Tooth enamel is translucent, meaning that light can pass through it. Light rays landing on our teeth pass through the enamel to the layer below, called the dentin. Dentin is a dark yellow color, and the light bounces off it, reflecting back to create that shiny white appearance. Teeth are not a flat white, but have depth to them.

In the same way, porcelain looks pearly and matches our tooth enamel astoundingly well. Light passes through the porcelain, bounces back off the dental bonding which attaches the porcelain to the underlying tooth tissue, and the result is that same attractive sheen.

Porcelain is rather brittle by itself. But when it s bonded to a tooth, it becomes part of that tooth, and is very strong and durable. It s also highly stain-resistant, since it s a glass-like substance.

Dental uses of porcelain

Cosmetic dentistry uses porcelain to enhance or repair our teeth in several ways.

1. Porcelain veneers - are thin shells which a cosmetic dentist will bond permanently to the front surface of a tooth. The porcelain is chosen to match the natural color of surrounding teeth. This is a fast and effective way of addressing such minor but annoying defects as:

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