Cosmetic Dentistry
SureSmile Clear Aligners
Straighten your smile and align your bite.
Crooked, gapped, or crowded teeth are something that can be remedied at any age, and the benefits will last a lifetime. Bite alignment is vital to your overall health, promoting even wear on your teeth and reducing stress to your temporomanibular joints — the joints that allow your jaw to open, close, and move. Reducing or eliminating crowding will also enable you to better care for your smile with regular brushing and flossing. This will keep gum disease at bay and help you feel more confident in that post-lunch meeting — no more wondering if you have food stuck between your teeth! Malocclusion, or a misaligned bite, has been linked to a variety of issues that can also affect your overall health, such as mouth breathing and bruxism. Bruxism, or nighttime grinding of the teeth, greatly increases your risk of failed dental restorations and often causes jaw pain, face pain, and headaches. With SureSmile clear aligners, you can have a well-aligned bite and beautiful smile with discreet treatment. Schedule your smile evaluation today!
Tooth Whitening
Reveal your smile’s radiance.
Teeth tend to become dull, yellow, or discolored with time. Your teeth are exposed to everything you eat and drink, and are especially affected by dark-colored foods and beverages. Your tooth enamel also naturally thins with age, revealing the darker, yellower layer of dentin underneath.
If you’re happy with your smile’s overall appearance but want to improve its shade, an at-home professional whitening treatment from Metro East Dental Care is a fast, safe, and affordable treatment that will reliably produce the results you crave.
At-Home Whitening
An at-home whitening treatment provides you with custom-fit trays and a prescription-strength whitening gel to gradually and conveniently whiten your teeth from home in just two to three weeks.
What’s the difference between OTC and professional whitening?
Both over-the-counter (OTC) whitening kits and professional whitening treatments use a peroxide-based whitening agent to break down surface stains and lighten the dentin layer of your teeth.
ADA-approved OTC whitening strips, gels, and trays are considered safe if the manufacturer’s instructions are followed to a T and you don’t have any underlying dental issues, like cavities or gum disease. The misuse or overuse of whitening kits can yield unpleasant consequences, including destabilized dental restorations, tooth dehydration, enamel erosion, and heightened tooth or gum sensitivity.
Whether completed in-office or at home, professional whitening treatment safeguards your smile with the supervision of your dentist. Dr. May will first ensure your teeth and gums are healthy before you undergo any whitening treatment and can advise you of the best timing for treatment if you plan to receive any other restorative or cosmetic services, like porcelain veneers or crowns.
Though you may still experience some temporary tooth or gum sensitivity, a professional whitening treatment allows you to effectively whiten your smile while minimizing the risk of damage. The Metro East Dental Care team is also available to address any issues that may arise during your whitening treatment and make your experience more comfortable and effective.
Porcelain Crowns
Keep your smile beautifully strong and healthy.
Each one of your natural teeth has a crown above the gumline and a root beneath. The crowns of your teeth give your smile its unique appearance, shape, and sheen and can withstand the force of chewing and exposure to foods and drinks.
Though they’re impressively resilient, the crowns of your teeth can’t heal themselves if they’ve been damaged by tooth decay or injury. Unless repaired, the health, strength, and appearance of your natural tooth will gradually diminish, often resulting in a loss of function or pain.
With a porcelain crown, you can protect your smile from further damage and reestablish your smile’s health, integrity, and function.
Porcelain Crowns in Granite City, IL
A porcelain crown is a lifelike prosthetic tooth that fully covers a tooth that is broken, cracked, weakened, misshapen, or deeply decayed. Porcelain crowns are also used to anchor a dental bridge, update metal crowns or fillings, and complete a root canal treatment or a single-tooth dental implant restoration.
Used in both cosmetic and restorative dentistry, porcelain crowns are milled from durable dental porcelain that mimics the texture, shade, and luminosity of your natural teeth. Each porcelain crown is made of durable dental porcelain that closely mirrors the color, texture, translucency, and sheen of your natural teeth.
How do I take care of my porcelain crown?
A porcelain crown is easy to maintain and requires the same care you would ideally provide to keep your natural teeth strong, bright, and healthy. Along with daily brushing and flossing and twice-annual dental visits, you’ll improve the longevity of your porcelain crown and natural teeth by eating a healthy diet, abstaining from smoking and tobacco, reducing your sugar intake, and refraining from chewing on ice, pen caps, or other objects that aren’t food. With proper care and maintenance, your porcelain crown can last 15 years or longer.
Children's Dentistry
It is important that your child’s newly-erupted teeth receive proper dental care and benefit from proper oral hygiene habits right from the beginning.
Contact Us
Your smile is yours forever, and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to receive the best dental care when you need it.
Testimonials
“Met Dr. May today. He is very nice, listened very well about my concerns, and explained everything well. Cindy and Kelsey, who did my X-rays and cleaning, was amazing as always.”
• Jamie S.
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