In the modern day of “Turkey Teeth” and the whitest of the white opaque composite bonding on all teeth, it seems that what natural teeth should actually look like is starting to be forgotten. Some patients are also less aware of how minimally invasive, and cost-effective treatments such as tooth whitening can make a really incredible change. Let’s take a look at this case as a great example:

This young female patient had recently finished Invisalign clear aligner treatment to straighten her teeth. She has beautifully shaped, normal, natural teeth. Note the harmony between the right and left teeth, but the lack of total 100% conformity, and note the soft gentle curves of the edges of the teeth, the different lengths of teeth that match the curve of the lower lip. You can also see translucent halos in the incisal edge of the central incisors. In the before pictures, you can also notice that difference in colour between the front incisors, and the canines. This is again, a normal occurrence: incisors are thinner, so the light passes through them more easily. There is also less dentine, where the bulk of the colour of the tooth comes from. Conversely, canines are thick, chunky teeth with a lot of dense dentine.

For a more attractive smile, it is the goal to reduce the difference in shade between the incisors and canines, if present, but often not to totally eliminate it, as this can look slightly artificial. The after pictures highlight how much of an impact a treatment as simple as tooth whitening can have on an already beautiful smile. Using at-home whitening kits, we monitor how your treatment is going during regular review appointments and make suggestions to improve the result, for example only whitening certain teeth at some times if they are a much different starting shade.