There are many ways to improve the appearance of teeth, lips, and gums. While many of these procedures are highly effective and may be the best treatment option under certain circumstances, they also can require anesthesia, discomfort, and significant downtime. Not so with veneers – for a specific group of patients, veneers can provide significant cosmetic improvement without some of the drawbacks associated with other dental procedures.

When to Choose Veneers

Veneers improve the appearance of existing teeth. They are a good option for men or women bothered by chipped teeth, irregularly shaped teeth, or gaps between their teeth. If this sounds like you, I encourage you to meet with a cosmetic dentist and find out if veneers can accomplish your goals.

If you have missing teeth, you may want to consider dental bridges or dental implants in Beverly Hills. Even if you need dental implants, you may also be a candidate for veneers on some of your teeth. A skilled cosmetic dentist will be able to address a variety of complex dental issues, combining treatment techniques to achieve comprehensive improvement.

Getting Veneers

Getting your veneers is relatively simple, although several office visits are required.

• Your first visit: Outer tooth enamel will be roughened so that it is better suited for bonding. Impressions will be taken of your teeth so that a dental lab can create your veneers.
• Your second visit: When your veneers are ready, you will visit your dentist or periodontist to try them on and make sure they fit properly and are the right size and color.
• Additional visits: You should be happy with your new smile, so it’s important to “get it right” with your veneers. Don’t hesitate to ask for additional shaping of your veneers, even if it means you have to schedule another appointment.

As you can see, veneers are a great option for certain improvements. Beautiful teeth are an essential component of any healthy and vibrant smile.

By: James Romanelli, MD

There’s a big trend right now for younger women to consider cosmetic surgery procedures like breast reduction and even breast lift much earlier on than they used to, but sometimes it’s just not the best idea to catch a cosmetic concern too early on. Here are two of the big ideas I’ll discuss with younger breast reduction candidates who ask me whether it’s “too soon” for surgery:

1. Discomfort vs. Development: You want to avoid the pain and awkwardness of having large, saggy breasts, but you also don’t want to have to get extra surgery if you don’t need it. If I have a patient who is under 18 and whose breasts are only moderately oversized and saggy, I’ll probably suggest putting off Long Island breast lift and/or reduction surgery until her breasts have finished growing. I’ll make an exception for a patient who has severely oversized breasts, but only if it’s a real quality-of-life issue.

2. Sexy Shape vs. Family in the Future: Many of my patients want breast reduction and lift so they’ll feel sexier and their breasts won’t look “older” than the rest of their body. But if you’re planning on having children, your enhanced breast shape can begin to sag again. Women who are thinking of starting a family have to decide if it’s more important to be able to enjoy the shape they want now, or to delay their procedure until after their pregnancies. Usually there isn’t a “right” or a “wrong” choice on this issue; it’s more a question of what fits your plans and falls in line with your goals for your breast shape.

I’d definitely recommend talking both of these issues over with your Long Island plastic surgeon in detail; this will help you find out what you can expect in the long term, and hopefully give you the information you need to make the right choice.

By: Michael Tantillo, MD

If you’re a teen or the parent of a teen who is thinking of getting a rhinoplasty or “nose job,” you might be questioning whether this procedure is appropriate for younger patients. Rhinoplasties are some of the most complex cosmetic surgery procedures out there, so keep in mind that there’s no single deciding factor and no “perfect” age where the procedure suddenly becomes appropriate for everyone. That being said, at my practice I generally won’t perform nose surgery for patients who are younger than 14. This is largely due to:

• Physiology: With young men especially, the internal structure of the nose can change significantly between early adolescence and adulthood, and it just isn’t a good idea to step in midway through that process and alter things before you know the “final” result the body is working to create. Certain adjustments at this point are less problematic than others (injectable treatments are usually fine), but what’s “appropriate” will be different for every patient and overall it’s best to wait until the body has figured itself out.
• Goals: Younger patients and their parents are often motivated to seek out a nose job or Boston rhinoplasty to minimize teasing and taunting. While that priority isn’t invalid, a patient who can’t express goals of their own probably needs some time to mature. They’ll be happier with the aesthetic result in the long term if they feel confident that the decision is theirs.
• Recovery: Rhinoplasty recovery does not have to be an intensive undertaking, but it does require effort and special care to follow the directions of your plastic surgeon faithfully. This can be a challenge for younger patients, and while parents are usually good about making sure their child follows post-surgical instructions, parents who are too “hands off” or an immature teen may cause me to recommend delaying surgery.

By: Susan Stuart, MD

I was surprised recently to hear about a mother in England who bought her teenage daughter a course of BOTOX® Cosmetic treatments to get rid of the wrinkles in her forehead. In last week’s post on this topic I outlined some of my doubts, and now I want to offer yet another reason for teens to skin the San Diego BOTOX® Cosmetic treatments.

Deeper Issues Need to be Addressed First

Teens who think their face looks wrinkled or old may just be hypercritical of themselves or may even have more serious psychological concerns such as body dysmorphic disorder. The bottom line is that when I see a patient who I believe is obsessively concerned with real or imagined defects in their appearance, I have to push the pause button.

As a dermatological surgeon and San Diego facial rejuvenation specialist, I can tell you that treating patients of any age who are overly critical about their appearance is a bad idea.

• These patients tend to have unreasonably high expectations for how their treatment will fix their life. Given their relative immaturity, teens especially can expect results that just aren’t realistic.
• Performing the treatment might reinforce – not reverse – the ideas that feed into the patient’s preoccupation with their appearance.

Parting thought: Studies show us that body image and self image can change dramatically from adolescence to adulthood, and stepping in at this point with “corrections” that may not even treat the problem just doesn’t make sense.

By: Susan Stuart, MD

Just recently a mom in the United Kingdom bought a series of BOTOX® Cosmetic injections for her teenage daughter. Some people might just dismiss this as a “fluke,” but the reality is that more and more teens are looking into plastic surgery and nonsurgical facial rejuvenation treatments like San Diego BOTOX Cosmetic to change how they look … sometimes for good reasons, sometimes for less healthy ones.

The mother who bought the injections for her teen said that she was concerned that her daughter demonstrated a family tendency to develop significant frown lines very early. I haven’t examined the young woman, but I do treat a number of teens for problems like acne and rashes at my San Diego facial rejuvenation center. In my experience, early development of “frown lines” has more to do with sun exposure, poor diet, or misuse of skin care products, and very little to do with genetics or with muscle contraction – the problem that BOTOX corrects.

In some cases, even younger patients have damaged their skin in ways that give it an older appearance and will need treatments like Fraxel® facial rejuvenation to kick-start their skin into maintaining itself better. But only in rare cases is muscle contraction the real source of the problem.

Parting thought: BOTOX® Cosmetic is the gold standard in reducing dynamic wrinkles for good reason – it works. But just because it reduces one type of wrinkle very effectively doesn’t mean it’s the best or the right choice in every case, and especially for someone so young.

Quick Links:

• Post 2 on this topic
• Related posts: Dr. Scott Green discusses breast enhancements for teens.
• More information on San Diego BOTOX treatments

By: Dr. Susan Stuart

You love the time you spend soaking up the sun and enjoying the outdoors, but you certainly don’t love the potentially serious effects of sun damage, which can destroy tissues, cause skin cancers, and prematurely age skin on your face, hands, and body.
A revolutionary new technology for men and women in San Diego, Fraxel® laser therapy, encourages skin renewal without the pain, downtime, and procedural risks associated with ablative procedures that remove surface layers of skin.

What Does Sun Damage Look Like?

Many people think that temporary sunburn or freckling is the only sign of sun damage, but in reality, sun exposure over the course of your life causes gradual changes in the cellular structures of your skin. Most of this damage usually occurs before you turn 20, but you only begin to see its effects in early aging signs that appear in your 30s and 40s.

A few visible indications of sun damage include:

• Deep wrinkles that appear even when your face is at rest
• Sun-induced “age” spots – large irregular freckles or new patches of dark or white-spotted skin
• Dryness, roughness, or scaly texture to skin (particularly on the neck)
• Redness from an increase in the number of tiny blood vessels that cluster on the skin’s surface in sun-exposed areas such as the cheeks and nose
• Increased thickness and dryness of lip tissue, which may appear patchy scaly-white and bruised or chapped

What Do Fraxel Treatments Offer that Ablative Methods Cannot?

San Diego Fraxel laser treatments use tiny pulses of light to penetrate deep into the epidermis and dermis. The microscopic columns of light destroy dead skin cells and stimulate deeper layers of collagen to become more active. The deeper skin tissue begins to reinforce itself, gradually creating a smoother and fuller surface appearance.

Compared to ablative techniques such as microdermabrasion and laser resurfacing, Fraxel prompts skin to remodel itself without severely disrupting surface tissues. This means Fraxel treatments can help San Diego men and women rejuvenate their skin more comfortably. The Fraxel laser is effective in treating all of the signs of sun damage mentioned above, with consistently positive results.

As always, the best defense against sun damage is to wear a high-quality, high-SPF sunscreen – and plenty of it – whenever you go outdoors. But for those who are starting to see the toll that years of sun exposure has taken on their skin, the Fraxel laser may be an excellent option for improving skin appearance and overall health.

By: Scott Green, M.D.

In recent months, a few news stories have prompted patients interested in liposuction in Sacramento, CA to ask me about the safety of performing liposuction for young women and men under the age of 18. Generally I discourage liposuction for patients under 18, but in some cases it can be a valid option for a teen to regain a slimmer body and maintain a more positive self-image.

When a young adult comes to my office to explore options for liposuction, I am more likely to support their desire and continue with the consultation process if they present with an abnormality, such as larger fatty deposits brought on by hormone level changes, or another factor that makes plastic surgery more of a reconstructive than a cosmetic procedure.

Teen Cosmetic Surgery Motivations

Sometimes parents and teens in Sacramento who believe liposuction is right for them will not explore their options simply because they think patients must be over 18 years old. While I do not perform many liposuction procedures for younger patients, if a teen does come to my office interested in the procedure, my focus is more on the maturity and motivations of that individual. A patient needs to understand the procedure and the risks involved to make an educated decision. Motivation inspired by fashion, friends, boyfriends, or parents would discourage me from performing surgery. During the consultation, I take the time to make sure my patients make choices that in the end will contribute to their general wellbeing.

Procedures such as liposuction can help adults maintain a positive outlook and enhance self-esteem, and some teens can also benefit from the procedure. However, if I can see that a teen is considering liposuction to resolve deeper psychological and emotional insecurities, or to cope with peer pressure, I encourage them to find a way to address these emotions first. If they return to my office and I feel confident that they are considering a procedure for the right reasons, then I am much more likely to schedule them for surgery.

Other Limitations of Liposuction in Sacramento, CA

Liposuction, especially for teens, is not a method for weight loss, although it can be a good choice for adults and for some teens who are already working to maintain their weight through diet and exercise. I educate my patents to make sure that any teen who receives this type of surgery is not just looking to drop a few pounds. Liposuction is about enhancing the body contour, not seeing a smaller number on the bathroom scale.

At my Sacramento liposuction practice, I also work with my patients to make sure that anyone considering liposuction holds realistic expectations about the surgery and its results. Because teens are still in the process of developing their bodies and lives, these factors are particularly important for them to consider. For teens to be good candidates for this type of plastic surgery, they need to be able to weigh these factors in a mature manner.

The Role of Parents

Particularly for minors, parental involvement in medical decisions is extremely important, and all surgeries performed for individuals under the age of 18 require parental consent. Beyond signing off on their consent, parents need to be involved in the decision-making process to help their young adult understand their options and take responsibility for making smart choices. Also, parents often provide a critical care-giving role during the recovery period. An actively-engaged parent is important to overall surgical success.

At the same time, it’s important for parents not to pressure their teen either for or against cosmetic surgery. From what I’ve seen, the experience is more satisfying when a family works together and discusses their reservations openly. When a teen considering liposuction in Sacramento, CA appears to be pressured by his or her parents to achieve a certain look for whatever reason, that sends up a red flag to me that this patient is not going to be able to make a decision about plastic surgery that they will be happy with for years to come.

Ultimately, liposuction can be a good choice for some patients under the age of 18 only when they meet particular criteria. Careful screening by the surgeon is needed to ensure that each patient considering this kind of procedure has the proper level of maturity and the right motivations.