Drill-Free Cosmetic Dentistry Orange County
Even the smallest flaw in your front teeth can detract from your overall smile. Something like a white spot will stand out from the areas around it, making it seem more noticeable than it really is. And even if your teeth are generally straight and healthy, any white spots on them can make your smile look like it needs professional attention.
When it comes to smile makeovers, you have a variety of aesthetic treatments to choose from. Popular options include cosmetic veneers, dental bonding, ceramic crowns, and more. Some people even try teeth bleaching to get rid of white spots, but it isn’t always effective (depending on the extent of the discoloration.)
But there’s a less-common smile enhancement option you might not know about: ICON DMG. And the best part is that ICON can be completed without any numbing/injections or drilling!
ICON Infiltration for White Spots
ICON is a resin infiltration treatment that targets the micropores (or tubules) just inside of your enamel structure. Since weak, de-calcified enamel can leave white scarring in the surface of your tooth, treating those surface flaws is especially challenging.
Instead of drilling out the weaker area of enamel, ICON simply infiltrates your pores with a colorless, translucent resin to create a smooth, durable finish. The material mimics what you might use in a white filling or composite dental bonding, but is clear instead of tooth-colored. The less viscous texture allows the resin to flow straight into your micropores, rather than manually shaped over them.
ICON can be applied without any alteration to your natural tooth structure, helping you preserve the integrity of your healthy enamel! As such, the entire application can be completed using drill-free cosmetic dentistry techniques.
Fast, Dramatic Results
An ICON drill-free cosmetic dentistry treatment takes around 10 minutes to complete, give or take. You can expect your appointment to last around a half hour from start to finish, making it easy to fit into your busy schedule!
When you arrive, Dr. Yazdan will isolate the affected tooth, clean and dry it. Once ICON is applied, we use a light to permanently harden and seal the liquid composite into the tooth’s pores. That way your tooth is both strengthened, and the white spot is practically erased.
No shots. No drilling. No non-reversible treatments. ICON gives you a non-invasive solution for combating even the toughest of white spots on teeth.
What if I Want to Whiten Later?
Any time you have a tooth-colored filling, bonding, or crown placed, that material will stay the same color throughout the entire lifetime of your restoration. So, when you whiten, those other types of restorations have to be changed out.
That’s not the case with an ICON white spot treatment. Even though the resin flows into the tooth structure and is permanently cured in place, it takes on the shade of the healthy enamel around it. If you were to ever get another type of drill-free cosmetic dentistry treatment like teeth whitening, your tooth would brighten alongside of its neighbors.
To whiten or not to whiten? It’s a question you can consider at any point in the future! There’s no need to bleach your teeth prior to the ICON DMG application, because you can do it later if you so choose. By erasing the signs of white spots in tooth enamel, your smile will already look better than before.
ICON vs. Bonding and Veneers
For tenacious white spots on your front teeth, it’s usually an option to place dental veneers or bonding over the lesion. But with veneers, you typically have to place restorations on multiple teeth in order to get a consistent appearance across your smile. That means involving additional healthy teeth that otherwise wouldn’t need treatment.
Bonding, however, can usually be placed on a single tooth without altering the teeth next to the one being treated.
But with either of these treatments (bonding and veneers) it’s usually necessary to physically alter the natural shape of the tooth before the restoration can be applied. That means numbing the tooth and then reshaping the enamel. After bonding or a veneer is placed, it usually has to be replaced should it ever wear out or fall off.
ICON prevents non-reversible tooth restoration since it’s a drill-free cosmetic dentistry treatment. It’s not just minimally-invasive, it’s completely non-invasive!
Which Cosmetic Treatment is Right for Me?
At The Center For Restorative & Cosmetic Dentistry, Dr. Desiree Yazdan provides a wide variety of aesthetic options to choose from. Some people benefit from dramatic dental veneers, crowns, and bonding. But for individuals with significant white spots, a less-invasive alternative is available! Especially if your smile is otherwise healthy and straight.
Call our Newport Beach, CA dentist today to find out if ICON drill-free cosmetic dentistry is right for your smile!
About Dr. Yazdan
