Not pleased with your smile? Dr Rushi Travedi may have the answer.

Many Americans are discovering that it's easier than ever to improve that old greeting basic, the smile.

If you're not pleased with what you see in the mirror, you're not alone, because approximately 74% of Americans believe that an unattractive smile can hurt their career success, and many believe it is important to get beautiful smiles.

Some people are really unhappy with their tooth structure. Common reports are that they dislike the shape or color of their teeth, that they don't like gapped or crowded teeth. These are the most common problemspatients at Preferred Dental Care in Flushing, NY report.

Tooth Whitening is a growing industry. People are regarding their smile to be an integral part of their overall appearance, and are no longer willing to think of it as something that should not be changed. Your teeth can be re-shaped, whitened, moved, or removed and replaced totally altering your smile.

"The number one issue expressed by patients is the color of their teeth." says Dr Shilpa Travedi.

While tobacco, medications, and illness can stain teeth, many teeth are simply darker than a person prefers. Bleaching the teeth is a popular option in cosmetic dentistry. "A lot of people who maybe just kind of took that for granted before are very aware that they can have their teeth whitened. There is an epidemic of people simply wanting their teeth whitened," reported Dr. Shilpa Trivedi of Flushing, New York. "You can see advertisements on television for over-the-counter products...I think people are more aware in general of this option." "Bleaching was the beginning of when people took notice of what cosmetic and restorative dentistry could do," said Dr. Trivedi.

New whitening techniques can improve the color of teeth with less hassle than previous methods. One process has the patient wear a fitted mouthpiece overnight with the {bleaching|whitening}}} gel in it. As the patient sleeps, the gel whitens the teeth with no harm to the rest of the mouth.

One session won't do the trick, but for many patients a few weeks will result in a noticeable improvement.

Metal Crowns are another popular option to improve appearances. Many dentists preferred to use metal to provide the necessary strength to the ceramic portion, which was then bonded to the metal. While the metal was not readily noticeable, the crown was still not as natural-looking as its neighbors. One reason is light. Natural teeth are translucent, meaning light passes through them. Light cannot pass through metal, so metal-backed crowns appeared different from other teeth.

Now dentists can use a harder ceramic core to anchor the crown, eliminating the need for metal. The color of the crowns is much better as well. With the use of shading charts, dental labs can shade a crown to look like neighboring teeth. Dental specialists take molds of a patient's teeth, construct crowns and bridges, or other appliances. Dr. Trivedi describes the job of his dental technician as a combination of artist and scientist. Fillings are also improving. Porcelain fillings, which match the natural color of the teeth, make the repair less noticeable than metal fillings.

Dentists, as you might imagine, are happy about this new trend. Not only can they take partial credit for all those healthy teeth, cosmetic dentistry provides an opportunity to make patients really happy about going to the dentist. Instead of thinking about unpleasant experiences, patients can associate their dentist with more attractive teeth. "I think now things are so competitive in the job market, that people feel like 'If I've got a bright smile, that's going to help me in whatever else I'm doing.' Particularly from a standpoint of self-confidence," said Dr. Trivedi.

About The Author Sally Smith, Staff Writer of Yada Yada Marketing has written for many prestigious dental publications. More information about Dr Rushi Travedi can be found at http://dentistinny.com