We pride ourselves on all the work we do, from that first comprehensive exam to fillings to full-mouth restorations. The crown jewel in our dental office is the cosmetic dentistry offered by Dr. Dudley. He can design and craft a spectacular smile for you with smile whitening, veneers, gum recontouring, composite bonding, and full mouth restoration, where every tooth might need some type of restoration or enhancement. The preparation time and completion of the work take less time and involve less discomfort than you can imagine.
Lompoc Family’s Cosmetic Services
- Create the ultimate in symmetry with porcelain veneers or minimal prep veneers
- Restore a smile that’s severely damaged
- Expose more tooth surface or correct a gummy smile with crown lengthening and gum recontouring
- Replace metal fillings with tooth-colored restorations
- Repair larger tooth decay with porcelain dental inlays or onlays
- Restore broken teeth or close gaps with composite bonding
- Fine-tune your smile with tooth recontouring
- Brighten your smile with Zoom! teeth whitening
Your treatment plan can be completed as quickly as you like. We can arrange to do many of your treatments over a day or two or over months or even years (health permitting). Dr. Dudley will work with you to create a plan that suits your life and your budget.
Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are just like veneers on other surfaces. They’re very thin shells that are cemented to your own prepared teeth. They can totally transform the appearance of your smile by straightening, lengthening, and whitening teeth. It’s life-changing when you suddenly have a beautiful smile and a more comfortable bite position.
Veneers are made from thin, custom-made pieces of porcelain that are applied to the visible portion of a tooth. They preserve your natural tooth structure, always our first priority. Veneers are made in a color and translucence that can match your teeth or whiten and enhance them. They will not stain and are incredibly long-lasting. You care for them just like you always do with regular brushing and flossing.
Minimal-Prep Veneers
Porcelain veneers are the ultimate in smile transformation. In a short period of time, stained or crooked and chipped teeth are white, even, and symmetrical. Patients at Lompoc Family Dental have two options, traditional veneers or minimal prep veneers. The difference between them is in the preparation of your own teeth.
Both types of veneers require preparation of your natural tooth so the veneers will adhere to them permanently. Traditional veneers require preparation to your tooth that is not reversible. It may even require removing part of the surface so that all your veneers will be even and work together properly.
An alternative to traditional veneers is minimal-prep veneers. They look the same as traditional veneers but require less tooth preparation and enamel reduction than traditional veneers.
Full-Mouth Restoration
Decay, disease, accidents, aging. All of these can contribute to damaged or lost teeth. Some people have issues with nearly all of their teeth. If this sounds like you, there is help. A full-mouth restoration might include implants, veneers, dentures, or anything else we have in our toolbox of dental care.
A full-mouth restoration is one of the most rewarding services we perform. It is life-changing for our patients. It’s like they become new people! It’s like being given a whole new lease on life when you can smile and laugh openly, without hiding your teeth.
Dr. Dudley will explain every step and process with you. Together, you will decide what is the best treatment option for you. He has devoted himself to training in a wide range of dental restoration and cosmetic services so as many of your treatments can be performed in our office as possible.
Crown Lengthening
Sometimes one or more of your teeth may look longer or shorter than others. A tooth may need restoration below the gum line and we need to expose more of the tooth surface to repair the bone. At Lompoc Family Dental we use crown lengthening to remove excess gum and bone tissue to align your smile and repair bone tissue.
A soft-tissue laser is an amazing tool. It removes tissue with very minimal discomfort and no bleeding. No stitches are required and you heal very quickly. This eliminates the need for traditional gum surgery, which involved cutting the tissue and then stitching it closed. A soft-tissue laser is part of modern dentistry that improved treatment and has increased patient comfort.
Gum Recontouring – Gingivectomy
Do you think you have a gummy smile, or that your teeth are too small? Your tooth is usually under there, it just needs to be revealed. Or perhaps there is gum disease below the gum line that needs to be treated. We have a help for that! We use the soft-tissue laser to remove excess gum or diseased gum tissue.
With a soft-tissue laser, there’s no bleeding, no stitches, and best of all, it involves very minimal discomfort for you. Making your treatments as comfortable and pain-free as possible is a big priority for us, and we use several pain and anxiety medications that can help.
Composite Bonding
Minor tooth problems like stains, chips, cracks, and gaps can be improved by using tooth-colored composite resin, called tooth bonding. Composite bonding begins as a liquid with the consistency of glue that is colored to match your own tooth. It is carefully applied in very thin layers, then exposed to a light that hardens it. This step is repeated until the restoration is complete. The resin is then smoothed and shaped until Dr. Dudley is satisfied that your tooth looks as good as new! Bonding is convenient, painless, and gives you remarkable results. Even a badly chipped tooth can be restored and beautified in just an hour or two.
Tooth Recontouring
Tooth recontouring is another technique that can add to the aesthetics of your smile. Tooth recontouring is where the “less is more” idea is important. Small overlaps, misalignments, and other small flaws can be adjusted by removing tiny, very thin slices of tooth enamel, one by one. It requires painstaking attention to detail and a commitment to your smile, one small adjustment at a time.
Tooth recontouring can be part of an overall strategy for correcting and beautifying your smile. You may not want to show up at work one day with a dramatically different smile. (Although if you do, that’s great too!) Remaking your smile can also be accomplished by making small changes over time. All anyone will see is that you look a little different, maybe happier because you’re smiling!
Smile Whitening
Your teeth seem very hard, but tooth enamel is actually porous. Your teeth can darken over time from the food we eat, from coffee, tea, wine, or from smoking. We help patients whiten their teeth by several shades in just a single trip to our office, with same-day teeth whitening. The results are immediate with a whiter, brighter smile. We use Zoom! the popular in-office whitening treatment that takes 45 minutes to an hour in our office.
To whiten your smile, we apply a whitening gel to your teeth, then direct a special light to your teeth that will accelerate and enhance the whitening process.
You can also whiten your teeth at home. Dr. Dudley can give you Zoom! whitening trays to take with you to whiten your teeth over a period of a few weeks.
