It’s obvious why a hockey player might want some cosmetic dentistry, but why would a 27-year-old career woman, wife and mother or a 37-year-old male business executive?
While most teens have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the orthodontist’s office and forced to endure the humiliation of “metal mouth,” many adults are voluntarily wearing braces, whitening discolored teeth, or having gaps or chips capped or bonded.
“Now, it is something we choose to do for our own benefit,” said Patrick Byrne, 37, general manager of Hewlett-Packard’s Colorado Springs division who has worn braces for nearly two years and will soon have a “coming out” party to celebrate his new smile.
Because cosmetic dentistry is more affordable than it was a decade ago — and more adults have the income to pay for it — it is becoming an increasingly popular way to improve one’s appearance and achieve the ideal smile, say patients and dentists.
Because the procedures are relatively pain-free, many dentists welcome the work because patients no longer associate them with an unpleasant experience, says Colorado Springs dentist Dr. James Cady.
“Instead of taking a trip to Tahiti or buying a new car, they are deciding to have their teeth fixed,” Cady said. Unless it involves injuries from an accident, cosmetic dentistry is usually not covered by insurance. Still, it’s a choice more adults are making.
“People like to look good, feel good and want that to last a long time,” Cady said.
In a survey conducted in 1995 by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, 92 percent of the men and women who responded said an attractive smile is an important social asset. Eighty-five percent felt an unattractive mouth made you less appealing to the opposite sex, and 74 percent said it could hurt a person’s chances for career success.
While cleaning, filling and other traditional dental procedures still make up the bulk of Cady’s practice, he says the demand for cosmetic work gradually is increasing. Other dentists report the same trend.
Dr. James Kearney estimates up to 10 percent of his patients are inquiring about cosmetic procedures, compared with 1 percent five years ago. Because there are no specialized credentials for cosmetic dentistry like orthodontics, dentists are performing the procedures as part of their regular practice, Kearney says.
Whitening or bleaching and veneers to correct discolored or chipped teeth are among the most requested cosmetic procedures, Kearney says. They are some of the least expensive procedures and show the quickest results.
Most of his cosmetic dentistry patients are women, both professionals and housewives in their late 40s and early 50s.
Procedures range widely in price and time involved. Teeth whitening costs from $200 to $400 and can take anywhere from a few hours up to two weeks. It involves wearing a custom-fitted tray with a bleaching gel overnight at home.
Bonding might take a couple of hours and one office visit. Porcelain veneers can cost $1,500 or more, depending on how many teeth are involved.
Braces involve a significantly larger investment.
Patrick Byrne’s experience is the most extreme of cosmetic procedures: He first had surgery to remove teeth from an overcrowded mouth and has spent months enduring a mouthful of wire.
Byrne says he gave the procedure a lot of consideration before going ahead with it because it was an all-or-nothing commitment.
“I had to give them (the dentists) the freedom to do as much as possible rather than a partial correction,” he said.
Prompting his decision was his own face, with crooked teeth staring back at him from publicity photos issued by his company’s public-relations department. Because Byrne spends a lot of time speaking before groups in boardrooms and conferences, he was a little self-conscious of his crooked teeth and later of his braces.
The braces no longer bother him because he can see the changes in his mouth.
“I smile a lot. The fact that I have braces doesn’t stop me,” he said.
Some of the work was purely cosmetic, Byrne says, but the dentistry also will improve the health of his mouth. Overcrowding made his teeth difficult to clean and caused gum problems.
Dentists practice a combination of science and art to help patients create the smile they want, says Dr. Ken Glick, president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.
The technology that allows for quick, painless perfection has made big strides in recent years, says Dr. Garret Lyons, a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry board of directors. He and his father share a practice in Wilmington, Del.
“It’s like the space age compared to what my dad was doing 30 years ago,” he said.
The technology to make teeth look good also helps keep them healthy, he added, and thus “people are keeping their teeth for a lifetime.”
