Tooth flank

What you need to know

Tooth flanks are shells that are attached to the front, visible part of the teeth. The number of tooth flanks required often depends on the width of a person's smile, i.e. the number of teeth visible when they smile.
Their installation on the front of the teeth is simple, fast and painless, which allows an individual to quickly obtain a brighter smile.
Tooth flanks are considered an integral part of the teeth on which they are placed. Therefore, they require the same type of care as natural teeth, i.e. they must be brushed at least twice a day and flossed between veneers daily.
The advantage of tooth flanks is the way they are installed. The installation procedure affects little healthy dental structure, unlike dental crowns, which require grinding of the teeth. Tooth flanks can sometimes solidify weakened teeth by making them stronger, as in the case of heavily restored teeth (with large fillings).
One condition must always be met to maximize the success of the tooth flank installation: the teeth on which they will be glued must be healthy at the beginning.
The purpose of tooth flanks is to beautify a smile by correcting defects.
Tooth flanks can be used for the following reasons:
• Indirect repair of decayed, chipped, cracked or broken teeth, as they have the ability to completely cover the front part of a damaged tooth to mask it or to restore the original size of the tooth
• Improving the aesthetic appearance of a smile by standardizing the color, shape, angle or size of teeth, as well as by minimizing or eliminating interdental spaces, also known as diastema
• The enlargement of a narrow smile
• Sometimes, changes to the height of a person's gums can be made with tooth flanks, which results in a reduction in the amount of visible gums.
Tooth flanks are a camouflage tool to correct uneven, misaligned or overly spaced teeth without the need for orthodontic treatment. However, the dental misalignment must be caused by a minor dental overlap and the space between the teeth must not be too large.
Two main materials are used to make the tooth flanks:
• Porcelain (ceramic)
• Composite resin, i.e. the same material as white fillings.

TIME REQUIRED

Duration of hospital stay
1 to 2 hours.
Average length of stay
1 week.
The time required depends on the type of tooth flanks and the manufacturing time
in the laboratory.

Tooth flank
Tooth flank

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Before the treatment

A first contact that allows you to properly address the problem and your expectations and where the dentist will take landmarks, photos, impressions and an X-ray of the mouth to make a casting that will serve as a basis for work and testing.
During the second meeting, the mould will have been transformed into a gutter. By filling it with a resin that hardens after a few minutes and placing it in the patient's mouth, it will make the mask necessary for successive tests. This mask is essential for the dentist's preparatory work but also for you, in order to give you a preliminary and fairly precise idea of the future result.
The preparation of teeth is sometimes necessary in terms of heights and dimensions and it is therefore necessary to cut them to harmonize these dimensions and properly accommodate future veneers. But it is also necessary to scrape the teeth in order to remove enamel so that the glue that will fix the elements adheres perfectly and makes the whole thing very solid over time. This phase is done in a few tens of minutes and without too much pain except for a small discomfort in the mouth when polishing the enamel.

What does it involve?

Once the tooth has been prepared, the actual placement of the tooth flanks is often done under local anesthesia. This is not a painful operation in itself, but the discomfort caused to the patient and the precision required require it to be done in this way, in order to avoid any rejection or untimely movement.
This phase is quite long and can last 1 to 2 hours for the installation of many tooth flanks because this operation is very precise and delicate. The glue works very quickly and the practitioner's gesture must be safe and correct in order to position the tooth flank properly and harmoniously. The result is often immediately satisfactory. The last 2 steps can be done at the same appointment.
In total, it will therefore take 2 to 3 appointments of only 1 to 2 hours at your dentist, to radically change your dentition. Namely, composite tooth flanks can be made in a single session.
les facettes dentaires Lumineers qui se posent plus simplement et en seulement deux rendez-vous.

Tooth flank
Tooth flank

After the treatment

Patients should be careful with hard foods. A gutter is sometimes recommended to protect the teeth, especially if patients grind their teeth.
Patients may experience an unpleasant sensation after tooth preparation, although the procedure is generally painless. If patients experience pain after the tooth flanks are placed, an adjustment should be provided.

About Tooth flank

Contraindications:
• Only healthy teeth can receive tooth flanks. In the presence of cavities or gum disease, they must therefore be treated before considering having tooth flanks installed on the teeth.
• If there is not enough enamel on the teeth, the tooth flanks may not have enough adhesion to stay in place.
• In the case where a large part of the tooth to be treated is missing, a dental crown is sometimes a better treatment.
• In the presence of bruxism (grinding or clenching of teeth), the tooth flanks may be damaged or even broken.
Any additional questions? Ask your MEDICAIM doctor about it: careteam@medicaim.com

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