She has had the traditional crowns done on her upper teeth and of course nothing is done to her lower teeth. Her smile has lost the harmony it used to have with longer teeth on one side than the other. Her line of smile is tilted to one side. She should at least have her lower teeth whitened to have a match at least colorwise.

Halle Berry’s  smile was voted the most attractive smile by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry members. The beauty of her smile is in the natural look, symmetry and harmony of her teeth.I always tell my patients that if after I had done their teeth someone asks them who their dentist is, I failed to create a natural look for them.

It looks like she has a set of lumineers or prep-less cosmetic dental porcelains on her teeth. Her smile was symmetrical, natural and harmonious. I am not sure why she had the veneers done. In this photo the teeth look bulky and more squared than her previous photos showing her natural smile

Lumineers or prep-less veneers is not indicated for everyone. I do them for someone whose teeth are tilted back and the extra addition does not make their smile protruding out

 It looks like she has a set of lumineers or prep-less cosmetic dental porcelains on her teeth. Her smile was symmetrical, natural and harmonious. I am not sure why she had the veneers done. In this photo the teeth look bulky and more squared than her previous photos showing her natural smile

Lumineers or prep-less veneers is not indicated for everyone. I do them for someone whose teeth are tilted back and the extra addition does not make their smile protruding out.

After posting this  I came across Dr. Youn’s post in his weblog about her porcelain veneers. It sounds like she has had them redone and the new set of veneers look more natural.

Has Jamie Foxx had cosmetic dentistry?

Jamie Foxx used to have a gap between his two front teeth. This gap is called diastema. One way of closing a diastema is to use veneers. The draw back to the use of cosmetic veneers to close a diastema is that, the teeth could potentially look wider than they naturally would. Jamie Foxx has had his upper teeth veneered to close his diastema.

At a later date it looks like might have had porcelain veneers placed on his lower teeth as well.

Another way of closing a diastema is to move the teeth by using orthodontic procedures like Invisalign. If the gap is too wide and therefore making the cosmetic porcelain veneers looking also too wide, Invisalign could be used to spread the gap between other front teeth. Afterwards placement of veneers would result in a more proportional smile.

Sally Field is talking about Osteoporosis and aging of the bones these days.

One of the biggest contributors to an aged look is a middle age smile.

Five signs of middle aged smile are:

•1)      Yellow or gray teeth.

•2)      Crooked or crowded teeth.

•3)      Old crowns with black lines around the gums.

•4)      Worn down teeth.

•5)      Silver fillings.

Sally Field’s teeth have gotten more yellow through out years. It looks like she has an old crown on her front tooth. This crown has maintained its original white color and it stands out next to the other discolored teeth. Her front crowded teeth also contribute to the tired, aged look.  Zoom whitening and invislaign would not only straighten teeth but makes them whiter and younger looking. Porcelain Veneers not only straighten the teeth but also changes the color of them on the permanent basis.

Be careful how you toss the floss. More people are getting the message that flossing is important. Brushing your teeth just removes the food from the front and the back of the teeth and the only way to clean between them is by using the floss. As dentists we ask our patients to floss specially at night before they go to bed.  After floss is used a lot of people just flush it down the toilet.

Floss, specially the non shreded kind binds with the other waste material and creates large clumps. They gum up impellers, which are part of the pumps in the city’s sanitary pumping stations.

Strands of floss wrap around the motors of the impellers - rotating devices that move the waste. When the motors don’t have enough power to overcome the jam, they shut down. Recently the Toronto water distric had to deal with this situation. According to the official this is a recurring issue every fall.

Next time you meet someone for the first time pay attention to what it is about them you notice first. Eighty five percent of people look at  the other person’s eyes first and then they look at their smile before noticing anything else about them.

As a cosmetic dentist, I am among those fifteen percent that looks at the smile first. A smile says a lot about a person; maybe it is true that a smile carries thousands of words. The discolored front tooth tells about a childhood accident. The worn down teeth projects a stressed personality and long white, scalloped teeth exude sex appeal.

During this election season I been watching and hearing  major presidential candidates. I have read and listened to their speeches and their debates. I have wondered what their smiles suggest about their personality and self confidence.

 Senator Barack Obama’s smile projects warmth and likability. His teeth are slightly longer and more rounded than usual. His smile is his face’s most   dominant feature. the white, soft smile makes him appear accessible and approachable.

 He has a wide smile that shows over twelve teeth; normally eight teeth are the most people show when they smile. The wide smile makes his eyes to squint.   Squinting of the eyes during smiling is an indication of an honest smile.

  Senator Hillary Clinton’s smile projects confidence and success. Her teeth are more squared at the edges than I have seen with women’s teeth usually. That   makes the appearance of her smile more powerful and in charge.

 I have also seen some photos of her with the teeth not as white as her portraits. I am not sure if the whiter smile we see on this photo is photoshoped  or not. She might have gotten her teeth whitened also at one point or another. Her eyes are the more prominent feature of her face and her smile just compliments them.

 Senator John McCain’s teeth protrude slightly outward and his lower teeth are crowded. He appears ambitious but very conservative. The Metal crown on his upper right side visible when he smiles gives an impression of traditional, no-nonsense type of person. Whiter teeth just does not work for him and it will look unnatural.

His large Buccinator muscles (cheek muscles) represents a clencher and projects an aggressive but non-threatening personality.

I guess the question is whose smile do you want to see on your TV screen for the next four years.

A significant number of crown and bridges in the US is manufactured by the foreign laboratories. There are no standard overseeing these products. Dentists generally check the fit of the crown and not where it was manufactured. Restoring teeth with crowns made out of metallic substrate is a common and customary way to restore tooth.

An Ohio TV station recently broadcasted a report on air claiming a dental crown made overseas had tested positive for lead. American Dental Association suggests patients to ask their dental office where their dental laboratory is and if the lab provides the office with the FDA approved materials.

More importantly one should realize that with the advent of cosmetic dentistry there are actually not that many cases where a crown with metallic substrate is indicated to restore a tooth. Porcelain based crowns and veneers with thin Feldspathic porcelain are now state of the art in producing life like crowns. Feldspathic porcelain is a natural organic type of porcelain hand crafted by a master ceramist. Porcelain Veneers are just one place Feldspathic porcelain can be used.

Alopecia may be linked to teeth infections according to researches at the University of Granada in Spain. Alopecia Areata is a type of hair loss possibly related to auto immune deficiency. It is thought that that this disease occurs mainly in males and females of all ages and starts with bald patches on the scalp and elsewhere. The pattern of baldness follows the nerve pattern of the teeth infection.

Sometimes a dental infection is dormant and routine x-rays are the only way to recognize and diagnose such dormant infection.  As a cosmetic dentist I realize the importance of general heatlth on the cosmetic dental status. There has been investigations relating periodontal disease or gum disease to other health issues like heart attacks. General evaluation of health and better dental homecare by providing better shaped porcelain veneers is one of our primary goals at the international instiute of cosmetic dentistry.

There are approximately 34000 estimated new cases of oral cancer every year and about half those diagnosed will not survive more than five years, but when diagnosed early, the survival rate can be as high as 80 to 90 percent. However, only 34 percent of oral cancers are found early.

In the early stages oral cancer is often painless and it may not be obvious. That is what makes it a very dangerous disease. Early indicators are: Red and /or white discoloration of the soft tissues of the mouth and any sores that does not heal within two weeks. Advanced signs of oral cancer are a sensation that something is stuck in your throat and a hoarseness which last for a long time. Numbness of the mouth and difficulty for moving the jaw, tongue or to swallow are also indications of oral cancer. For denture wearers a sore under a denture which even adjustment still not heal needs to be checked by a qualified professional.

The largest contributors to the development of oral and mouth cancer are the use of tobacco and alcohol. Not using tobacco is the single most important thing you can do to avoid oral cancers. Other risk factors include excessive unprotected exposure to sun which increases likelihood of lip cancers. Use at least SPF 30 sunblock on your lips. A diet that does not contain the protective nutrient of fruits and vegetables increases the risk of developing a variety of illnesses including oral cancer.

Oral cancer is more prevalent in men and thought it is due to life style issues. HPV viral infection is the most likely contributor to the oral cancer among non smokers. Although testing for the virus at the time of cervical examinations and PAP smears is becoming more common individuals carrying this virus are not likely to know that they have it, as there are no preventative of avoidance measure that will prevent sexual transmission of this virus. However, limiting the number of sexual partners decreases your risk of contracting the virus.

Avoiding the risk factors and early detection are the name of the game. Get an annual screening. Dentists by the use of new technology like VELscope which works by illuminating oral tissue with a beam of blue light set to a specific bandwidth can detect oral cancer tissues in early stages.