White Might

Everybody has teeth, but most of us are in the dark about how to make the most of them.

By Patty Rhule

America's twin obsessions with technology and physical perfection have given the Tooth Fairy a few new beauty tricks and a smile to rival Julia Roberts'.

Sink your teeth into this update on trends coming to a dental chair near you.

DAZZLING OPTIONS

No matter how long in the tooth you may be chronologically, your teeth need not tell the tale. A host of cosmetic procedures -- including bleaching, bonding and veneers -- are designed to make your teeth look as young as you feel. Use of bondings and veneers on top of teeth to repair uneven, broken, pitted or stained teeth -- so-called instant orthodontics -- can be "life changing," says Joe Blaes, a dentist and the editor of Dental Economics.

Whitening is the most often requested cosmetic procedure for people age 50 and younger, says the Academy of General Dentistry, accounting for the majority of the 60 million cosmetic procedures done each year. You can get the dentist to do it for you or self-whiten in the privacy of your own home. Here are the options:

Crest's Whitestrips. Tape treated with a peroxide gel that is worn for 30 minutes a day, twice a day, for two weeks is available at a wide variety of stores. Crest guarantees "noticeably whiter" teeth, says Procter & Gamble's Bryan McCleary. How hot is it? Within eight weeks of its introduction, Crest sold as much as it had expected to sell in a whole year. Cost: $44.

Bleaching toothpaste. This is the largest and fastest-growing segment of the toothpaste market. Crest is the market leader and offers a new product, Crest's Dual Action Whitening, that promises to remove surface stains and keep new stains from forming. Cost: Under $5.

Brite Smile. These free-standing dentist-staffed boutiques nationwide perform only tooth whitening, hastened by a high-intensity light. After an hour in the dentist's chair, teeth can be eight shades whiter, says Michelle Scala, a dentist in Jacksonville, Fla. Recommended cost: $500.

In-office treatment. With two or three sessions in the dental chair -- some use lasers to speed the process -- teeth can be whitened the desired amount. Cost: $500 to $1,000. New this month: a faster product, Zoom, from Discus Dental, designed to compete with Brite Smile; Zoom offers six- to 10-shade lightening in an hour.

At-home bleaching. Your dentist fits you with custom trays that you fill with peroxide gel and wear three hours a night for two weeks. Cost: About $500.

Some warnings: Not all teeth can be whitened. Bonding does not whiten. Tetracycline stains can be lightened a little bit, but veneers usually are recommended to get rid of the gray.

STAR-STUDDED SMILES

In Los Angeles, where perfect teeth are as important as a perfect body and the right car, cosmetic dentist Nushin Shir has seen it all. "I've had people want to set diamonds on the tooth." She refused but did set a diamond -- less than a quarter karat -- on a crown. "I discouraged it, but the person was persistent and understood the consequences -- such as eating the diamond." Patients in the music industry have asked for gold teeth in the front. "I really do discourage that, not only as a dentist, but also, I know these trends will die off."

Shir says the star whose smile is most often cited as patients' ideal is Whitney Houston. New York dentist Ronald Maitland says: "It's whoever their role model is. They want dazzle; they want light, straight and beautiful."

BRACE YOURSELF

For adults who want minor tooth straightening without the ordeal of metal braces, Align Technology is pushing Invisalign, barely visible plastic tooth aligners that can be removed for eating and brushing.

Designed for use only by older teens and adults (because the aligners don't accommodate for growth), Invisalign technology uses 3-D casts of the teeth to form 20 to 30 plastic aligners that gradually adjust the position of the teeth. It takes six to 24 months and costs $4,000 to $6,000.

OPEN WIDE AND SAY "SPA"

Patients entering the office of dentist Tom Hedge in Cincinnati are greeted with fresh-brewed gourmet coffee, a tour of the office and, when they finally settle into the treatment chair, a warm buckwheat pillow snuggled around the neck.

At First Impressions in Jacksonville's Avenues Mall, patients who are getting their teeth whitened, laminated or aligned also can get a paraffin-wax hand treatment amid aromatherapy and background music. "We offer a nice warm towel we've heated with, say, sage or essential oils, after the procedure is complete to wipe their face," says Scala, who offers Brite Smile whitening and Invisalign braces for her largely adult clientele. "I don't think they associate this office as much with dentistry. We don't do fillings; we don't do cleanings. A lot of veneers are done without anesthetic. It's a place to cosmetically improve your smile."