Adolescent Dentistry – Buffalo Grove, IL

Cosmetics

Cosmetic dentistry isn’t just for adults—children often experience dental damage or discoloration that can have an impact on their social development by impacting their self-confidence. We don’t want parents to need to choose between the health of their child’s smile and its appearance, which is why we offer treatments that are the best of both worlds. Below, you can learn more about some of the aesthetically pleasing dental services that we offer.

Dental Bonding

The anterior teeth are the ones that you can see when your child smiles, which is why it’s important that these restorations look as close to natural as possible. We craft them from composite resin, which can be color-matched to the enamel and texturized to look indistinguishable from the surrounding teeth. The material’s biocompatibility allows it to fuse with the enamel, providing a tight seal between the resin and your child’s tooth. Shades can be mixed to create the ideal tooth color. The procedure usually takes only one visit and can have a big impact on the esthetics of a smile.

This resin material can also be used to repair teeth that have been damaged by trauma. A tooth that has been chipped can be filled in to match the missing piece.

Learn More About Dental Bonding

Tooth-Colored Fillings

Tooth-colored fillings can repair the gradual damage caused by cavities and help restore a tooth’s natural strength and shape. Plus, our teenage patients don’t have to worry about the noticeable metal fillings their parents may have dealt with in the past – composite resin creates a wonderfully subtle match to natural tooth enamel, which means the corrections will blend right in and keep growing smiles looking great!

Teeth Bleaching

When our teenage patients, typically starting at the age of 15, want a brighter smile, often after completing orthodontics, we offer professional strength whitening that is only available through dentists. Stains on teeth can be classified in one of two ways: extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic stains appear on the surface of your teeth. Intrinsic stains live between the microcracks in your enamel and deep within your dentin (the layer of tooth underneath your enamel). Whitening toothpaste and mouth rinses may be able to remove some of the extrinsic stains on your teeth. Only bleaching agents can remove the stubborn extrinsic stains and the unsightly intrinsic stains that cause your teeth to look discolored. We’ll have customized whitening trays crafted especially for them that will hold whitening gel over their teeth. Bleaching gels contain an active whitening ingredient (either carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide) that penetrates the enamel to get to discolored molecules. Oxygen molecules from the whitening agents react with the discolored molecules in the teeth, breaking the bonds that hold them together. The oxygen molecules spread, whitening the entire tooth. As a result, your teenager is left with a brighter, whiter smile.

Additionally, if your teenager has severely discolored teeth as a result of taking certain medications or drinking dark-colored beverages like soda and tea, our at-home teeth whitening kits can safely and effectively transform their smile. 

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Referrals

Wisdom teeth (3rd permanent molars) try to erupt into the mouth most commonly during high school or early college years. As human jaws are getting shorter through evolution, many people don’t have room for these teeth to physically enter the mouth. This is especially true of the lower wisdom teeth. This is called an impaction. By proactively taking x-rays, Drs. Capezio and Loiben will observe the teeth and determine if and when their removal will be necessary. We don’t wait until pain or swelling starts. A timely referral to the oral surgeon for removal (usually while asleep) eliminates the problem before it occurs. Our dental office works closely with experienced and highly skilled oral surgeons.