Smile Makeover
Smiling with confidence makes you feel great. A beautiful smile is also an important social and professional asset. Yet there are many people who avoid showing their teeth in public or in photographs because they don't like what they see. If that describes you, then why not let us help you get the smile you've always wanted with a smile makeover?
A smile makeover goes beyond simply responding to dental problems as they arise. It's a comprehensive smile-rejuvenation plan that's uniquely suited to your own facial features and aesthetic preferences. The results can be quite dramatic — both in terms of how you will look and how you will feel. These are the major steps involved:
Take a look. The makeover process is all about giving you the smile of your dreams. So take a good look at your smile and note what you like and don't like about it. Some questions you can ask yourself are:
Are your teeth as white as you'd like them to be?
Are any teeth chipped, cracked, or worn?
Does your smile have a gummy appearance?
Do your teeth seem too large or small?
Do you like the alignment and spacing of your teeth
Are you self-conscious about crookedness or gaps?
Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder… and that's you! Some people want their smile to look “perfect” — and to them, that means completely straight, uniformly white teeth. Others like a slightly more natural look, and are not displeased by slight gaps or shade variations. There are lots of decisions to make, but don't worry — we will help you sort it all out!
Share your thoughts. Communication is an extremely important part of the smile makeover process. At our first consultation, it helps if you let us know what you would like to change in as much detail as possible. Bring along pictures of smiles you like, or of how your own smile used to look. We, too, will have some thoughts to share with you because as dentists, we're trained to look at smiles in terms of facial balance. In other words, we look not only at how the elements of a smile (teeth, lips, and gums) relate to each other but also how they blend in with the face as a whole.
Make a plan. An important part of planning a smile makeover is a comprehensive dental exam. Cosmetic dentistry offers an amazing array of lifelike tooth restorations and treatments; but before we start, we need to make sure to take care of any conditions in your mouth that may jeopardize a good result. If your teeth are discolored, for example, we need to find out why. You may have an underlying dental disease that needs to be treated before whitening your teeth; otherwise, the whitening may not last. Likewise, if you often drink red wine or other beverages that stain, you might do better with porcelain veneers than bleaching treatments.
Try it out. A smile makeover is an investment that is meant to last. That's why many of the procedures we perform are irreversible. So if you are contemplating some changes, it's a great idea to try them out before you fully commit to them. There are many ways to preview the results: We can use computer imaging, 3-D models, and even put temporary restorations on your teeth so you can see what the final results will look and feel like in your own mouth. This also allows us to fine-tune our makeover plan.
A “trial smile” is a great way to eliminate unknowns in the makeover process. But when it's all done, there's still one thing you may not be prepared for: how great it feels to flash your new smile to the world!