Page 20A The Bluffton Sun Aug. 6, 2013

HEALTH

Perfect smile attainable with cosmetic dentistryBy Stephen W. Durham

CONTRIBUTOR

There’s nothing shallow aboutwanting a brightersmile. Straight, whiteteeth make peoplelook younger and feelbetter about theirappearance. Thatconfidence can ener-gize every aspect ofliving, from work tofamily to love life.

A confident, happy appearanceinspires confidence from others, too, andit prompts a good reception at work, athome and everywhere you go.

Smiles draw people closer.Research gives us some surprising

insights about the impact of your smile.One study demonstrated that a smileimproves a person’s attractiveness – toboth men and women – more thanmake-up.

Another study revealed that a person’steeth topped the listof what makes himor her attractive –more than hair andclothes, more thanhands and nails,more than the carhe drives.

Human beingsare hard-wired toteam up with otherswho look healthy and capable. A bright,strong smile signals those qualities in away everybody understands.

It is really possible and practical toachieve one’s own best smile. Today’soptions for lighting up that smile arebetter than ever, because advances incosmetic dentistry put the smiles thatimprove people’s lives well within theirreach.

One of the quickest improvements

can come from ZOOM Whitening. Inabout an hour this technology gives daz-zling results. Some patients choose anaffordable, professional-strength at-homealternative for whitening.

The methods to straighten teeth whenthey’re crowded, cracked, crooked ormisaligned are so much better today thanyears ago.

Thanks to new “smile makeover”technology and advances in dental mate-rials – like porcelain – cosmetic dentistrycan literally change a person’s smile in asfew as two visits.

Many people don’t realize that they nolonger have to start young, take years orwear visible braces to get the smooth,even alignment they would like to have.

For instance, the Six Month Smile is afast, almost invisible way to reach thatgoal without showing braces to theworld.

Re-contouring teeth to sculpt moreattractive edges improves comfort andfunction too.

And implants are a natural-lookingway to replacemissing teeth. Theycan literally trans-form the smile thata patient shows theworld, and alsoprompt that personto smile a lot moreoften.

Not only are theoptions for an ideal

smile better today, but also the way ofachieving it doesn’t have to involve anydiscomfort. Thanks to sedation dentistry,many patients are able to relax – evensleep – through their appointments.

An attractive smile is a real asset inevery facet of life, and it is much easier toachieve today than ever before.

Stephen W. Durham, DMD, FAGD,LVIF is the owner of Durham Dental inBeaufort. www.drstephendurham.com.

Stephen Durham