A smile can be the most eye-catching feature of your face. With dentistry's many advances, you no longer have to settle for stained, chipped, or misshapen teeth.

Even subtle changes in your smile can make a dramatic difference in the way you look and feel about yourself.

Typically, cosmetic dentistry is not covered by insurance. But we encourage you to stop in for a consultation or ask about it during your next exam. It might be more affordable than you think, and the change in your appearance could be priceless.

Some options at Southside Dental are:

•  Tooth whitening (bleaching) brightens teeth that are discolored or stained. At Southside Dental, we've found the most successful and cost-effective treatment is the at-home bleaching system. We create a custom-fit mouthguard for you to use with peroxide-containing whitening gel. Some products are used twice a day for 2 weeks, and others are used overnight for 1-2 weeks. Your teeth may become sensitive when using the bleaching solution. Sensitivity should lessen once the treatment is finished.

It's important to know that whiteners may not correct all types of discoloration. Typically, yellow-hued teeth bleach well, brownish-colored teeth may bleach less well, and grayish-hued teeth may not bleach well at all. And, bleaching will not change the color of bonded or composite materials. Most likely, they will stand out in your newly whitened smile. In these cases, other options like porcelain veneers or dental bonding may be recommended.

Southside Dental offers the area's best pricing on teeth whitening with bleach.

•  Bonding improves the appearance of teeth that are chipped, broken, cracked, stained, or have spaces between them. With bonding, tooth-colored materials are applied, or bonded, to the tooth surface to create a smoother, more uniform appearance.

•  Enamel shaping modifies teeth to improve their appearance by removing or contouring the tooth's enamel. The process, which often is combined with bonding, usually is quick and comfortable and the results can be seen immediately.

•  Veneers are thin custom-made shells designed to cover the front side of teeth. Made of tooth-colored materials, veneers are used to treat spaces between teeth and teeth that are chipped or worn, permanently stained, poorly shaped or slightly crooked.

•  Braces are not just for kids. Orthodontics may be recommended if your teeth are crooked, crowded or just don't meet properly. Southside Dental offers orthodontic care but can refer unique cases to an orthodontist.

•  Tooth-colored fillings – composites provide an alternative to silver fillings. A composite resin is a tooth-colored plastic mixture that can be matched to create a color nearly identical to your actual tooth. In addition to fillings, it can be used for cosmetic improvements by changing the color of the teeth or reshaping disfigured teeth.

The shade of a composite can change slightly if your drink tea, coffee or other staining foods. Composites tend to wear out sooner than silver fillings in larger cavities, although they hold up as well in small cavities. Most dental insurance plans cover the cost of the composite up to the price of a silver filling, with the patient paying the difference.

•  Dental implants, fixed or removable, replace the roots of missing teeth and are used to support crowns, bridges or dentures. Implants are surgically placed in your jawbone. Implants help secure missing teeth and usually feel more natural than other methods of replacing teeth like dentures. It's important to replace missing teeth because when teeth are lost, the area of the jawbone that held those teeth starts to erode. Over time, you can lose so much bone that your jaw will need a bone graft to build the bone back up. In addition, lost teeth can lead to jaw joint problems and impact how you chew and the types of food you can comfortably eat.

•  Complete dentures cover your entire jaw, either upper or lower. Some people refer to them as "plates.” Complete dentures rest directly on the gum that covers the bone. An overdenture is a type of full denture that fits over a few remaining teeth. Saving a few natural teeth is better than losing them all. Natural teeth or even portions of natural teeth (roots) can help you retain bone in your jaw and can act as stable supports for overdentures or removable partial dentures.

Many people assume that they will require dentures as they age, but losing teeth is not a normal part of the aging process. If you care for your teeth well and guard against gum disease , you should be able to keep your teeth for a lifetime.

•  Removable partial dentures are composed of a metal framework with plastic teeth and gum areas. The framework includes metal clasps or other attachments that hold the denture in place. Partial dentures are removed easily for cleaning. Fixed partial dentures, also called bridges, are cemented in place and better simulate natural teeth. Two types of attachments are used in partial dentures — metal clasps and precision attachments. Metal clasps are C-shaped parts of the denture framework that fit around neighboring natural teeth.

•  Crowns are tooth-shaped covers placed over a tooth that is badly damaged or decayed. A crown, also called a cap, is made to look like your tooth. Crowns may be placed if your tooth is extensively damaged from decay, or breakage and filling material can't support the missing tooth structure. A crown may also hold together parts of a cracked tooth and can be used to hold a bridge in place. Crowns also are used for cosmetic purposes to cover misshapen or badly discolored teeth.

Usually, crowns last at least 7 years, but in many cases they last much longer, up to 40 years or so.