What do Christmas trees and great smiles have in common? Both can light up a room and bring a smile to other people’s faces.
You can tell if someone is filled with joy when they smile, and you know from personal experience that seeing someone else smile can make you want to smile, too.
Unfortunately, some people are so ashamed of their teeth that they are embarrassed to smile. That’s too bad for them and for the people around them.
Our team at Smile Glen Ellyn wants you to feel comfortable sharing your joy during the holidays and all year round. One way we can do that is with Lumineers, the thinnest veneers available at our dentist office.
If you’re happy and you know it, share your smile
In a piece for Psychology Today, social psychologist Dr. Ronald E. Riggio explained some of the benefits of smiling:
- Smiling triggers chemical reactions in your brain that help you relax and can lower your blood pressure, according to Riggio. This also can have pain relieving effects, and these chemical are natural antidepressants.
- Smiling also makes us more attractive to other people, and if other people see us smile, they are more likely to smile, too.
In other words, if you are happy, then you should show it for your sake and the sake of the people around you.
But what if you don’t feel like smiling because of your teeth? Lumineers and your dentist can help.
How Lumineers can brighten your day
Veneers, including Lumineers, are a great way to fix any number of problems you may have with your teeth. Here are a few examples of the things our dentist can fix with Lumineers:
- Discolored teeth — If you use tobacco or you used to, then you know how nicotine and tar affect your teeth. If you drink a lot of coffee or tea, then your teeth may have taken on a yellow tint. And if you have not been consistent with your oral hygiene, then your teeth may show the results of that as well.
All these things can leave you teeth looking anything but “pearly white.” No matter the reason your teeth have lost their luster, we can give it back to you with Lumineers.
- Broken teeth — If you miss a pass during a game of pickup basketball, it may have knocked off part of your tooth. Maybe you tripped and hit your teeth on something when you fell. Maybe someone else wasn’t paying attention and bumped into you (and your mouth) with something they were carrying.
Chipped teeth can happen at any time for lots of reasons, but Lumineers can restore the look of your teeth to their original size and shape.
- Crooked teeth — Have you ever seen a “Hollywood smile?” The odds are that person was not born with teeth that straight, but with veneers, anyone can look like they have perfect teeth.
- Teeth with gaps — When you have a noticeable gap between your teeth, people do notice. It’s inevitable.
If that bothers you, or it bothers you that other people are paying attention to your gap, Lumineers can given you the appearance of evenly spaced teeth.
How Lumineers are different
Lumineers are just one of the veneers we offer in our practice, so what makes Lumineers different? Size, or rather, the lack thereof.
Veneers are a kind of shell that we place onto the front of your teeth. This shell changes the appearance of your teeth and therefore your smile.
Veneers aren’t thick — most are around 1 millimeter — but that is enough that they could change the shape of your teeth and you mouth. To keep you looking more like you, the dentist must remove some of the enamel from the front of your teeth.
After this prep work, the dentist will make an impression of your slimmed down teeth. When your veneers are ready, they are bonded onto your teeth.
In contrast, Lumineers are about 0.2 millimeter “thick,” which means no prep work is required. Because they are so thin, Lumineers have little if any effect on the shape of your mouth.
That means the dentist does not need to remove anything from your teeth to make room for your Lumineers.
We want to see your smile
Perfect smiles rarely happen on their own, but you can get one with a little help from our dental team. Having bright, white, straight teeth can improve your outlook on life, and that may be just what you need to smile again.
And we promise, that will make other people smile, too.
Our team at Smile Glen Ellyn would be happy to talk to you about Lumineers at our dentist office. Just call us at 630-858-8800 or use our online form to make an appointment.
