Teeth Whitening | 3 | Uptown Dental Associates | Albuquerque, NM

Beautify Your Smile with Cosmetic Dentistry

April 1, 2018
Cosmetic Dentistry

Springtime is such a wonderful time of year. The weather warms up, wildflowers bloom, and that inimitable feeling of freshness and renewal is in the air.

It’s a great time to think about renewing your smile, too. Finally, do away with those dingy and damaged pearly whites to reveal a grin that’s as bright and fresh as the pleasant spring sunshine.

At Uptown Dental Associates, we have a full roster of cosmetic dentistry techniques to give you a younger, healthier-looking, and more beautiful smile. Whatever your dental complaints, your smile goals, and your budget, we have the procedure or combination of procedures to make your teeth (and gums!) look sensational.

To schedule a cosmetic consultation with Uptown Dental Associates, call our office in Albuquerque, NM at (505) 219-4548.

Smile Like a Star with Dental Veneers

Dental veneers have a long history in Hollywood. In fact, they were invented there! That’s right, the first veneers were created by a Los Angeles dentist to help make movie stars’ smiles look perfect on screen. These first restorations were temporary, but today’s much-improved permanent veneers are ubiquitous among actors and other celebrities.

That’s because they are so transformative. You can go from a smile that’s severely blemished to one that’s utterly flawless yet totally natural looking. And you don’t have to be a movie star. We offer two types of dental veneers right here in our Albuquerque, NM office

A veneer is a very thin shell-like structure that fits over the front of your tooth. It looks just like your real tooth in color, structure, and how it reflects light. But it is totally blemish-free, of course.

At Uptown Dental Associates, we offer four different types of dental veneer. Dr. Shepherd or Dr. Rasmussen will be happy to discuss the differences between them and which will best fit your needs.

  • Porcelain veneers reflect light beautifully. They require a small amount of enamel to be removed from your teeth before placement.
  • Lumineers are ultra-thin (about as thick as a contact lens) and require less tooth prep than conventional porcelain veneers.
  • e.max all-ceramic veneers are natural-looking and extremely durable.
  • “Prepless” veneers don’t require that any enamel be removed from your teeth, which means they can be removed down the road if you’d like.

Take a Few Years off with Teeth Whitening

Whitening treatments are an easy and relatively inexpensive way to make your smile look brighter and younger. We use the Lumibrite take-home system, which combines custom-made trays and professional-strength whitening gel with the convenience of whitening at home.

Our product is much more effective than the kits you’ll find at the drugstore. Those use a much lower concentration of active ingredients, plus the trays are not custom, which increases the risk of bleach leaching onto your sensitive gum tissues.

Our Lifetime Whitening Program is a great way to maintain your white smile for life. For $149, we will provide you with custom whitening trays and your first bleaching kit. We will give you a free tube of bleach every six months, as long as you come in for your regular dental checkups.

Balance Your Smile with Gum Reshaping

Sometimes it’s not your teeth that you’re dissatisfied with. If you don’t like the appearance of your gumline — perhaps your gums look too prominent, the gumline is uneven, or your teeth look oddly short — we can fix that with minimally invasive gum reshaping. After carefully examining your mouth and creating a custom plan for you, we will thoroughly numb the area to ensure you remain comfortable throughout the procedure. We will then use our state-of-the-art NV Pro 3 dental laser to remove excess gum tissue and bring your smile into balance.

If you have a lot of gum tissue to be removed, we can use conventional oral surgery methods for your treatment.

Move Your Teeth into Alignment with Invisalign

If you’ve lived with a crooked smile your entire life — or your teeth have shifted in adulthood — we can help you achieve the perfectly straight smile you want. And we can do it without attaching uncomfortable and unsightly metal braces to your pearly whites.

Invisalign uses a series of clear plastic “aligners” that gradually move your teeth into position. The aligners are extremely thin and custom-made for your teeth to ensure a comfortable fit. The system has numerous advantages over conventional braces.

  • No metal brackets or wires to poke and injure your mouth.
  • No uncomfortable tightening is required.
  • The aligners are removable for eating and cleaning, so no food restrictions or complicated cleaning routines are necessary.
  • The aligners are so discreet, that most people will not even notice that you are wearing them.
  • Invisalign treatment is typically shorter than conventional orthodontic treatment.

Perfect Your Smile Instantly with Snap-On Smile

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get a flawless set of pearly whites without having any dental work done? Well, guess what — you can!

Snap-On Smile is a custom full-arch prosthetic that fits right over your teeth. It truly is a perfect smile in a snap. It can be used as a temporary or long-term solution for a head-turning grin.

  • Snap-On Smile is made from a special dental resin that is extremely durable yet thin.
  • It looks totally natural.
  • You can eat and drink while wearing your prosthetic.
  • It is comfortable to wear.

If you decide to upgrade your smile with Snap-On Smile, we will help you pick the color and shape of your new prosthetic. We will then take precise impressions of your mouth. Your Snap-On Smile will be crafted at an outside lab. When it arrives at our office, we will have you come in for a final fitting. From start to finish, the process takes about three weeks.

Get a Custom Smile with a Smile Makeover

If you have multiple issues with your smile that you’d like to fix, we can combine two or more cosmetic techniques in a smile makeover. Dr. Shepherd or Dr. Rasmussen will be happy to advise you about the procedures that will best fit your goals and budget.

Are you ready to design your dream smile? To schedule a cosmetic dentistry consultation at Uptown Dental Associates, complete and submit our online form. We will get back to you shortly. Or you may call our Albuquerque, NM dental office at (505) 219-4548.