A smile makeover is a cosmetic modification to help you attain the dreamy smile you’ve always imagined. Cosmetic dentists can help you shape your lips, mouth, teeth, and gums to create the perfect smile.

What does a Smile Makeover Fix?

A smile makeover can fix a variety of cosmetic problems to perfect your smile. Through talking with your cosmetic dentist, you can determine exactly what work needs to be done and your available options. However, there are a variety of standard procedures that you can expect to consider as you consult your dentist.

Alignment: a smile makeover can help with misaligned teeth by straightening and properly aligning them.

Chipped or Cracked Teeth: cracks or chips can be fixed through smile makeovers, veneers, and lumineers.

Coloring: a smile makeover can fix the coloring of your teeth through tooth whitening. This can remedy discolored teeth from food, drinks, and age. Sometimes, whitening your teeth may not be enough, and in these instances, doctors will use crowns, implants, veneers, or lumineers.

Missing teeth: smile makeovers include replacing missing teeth with dental implants or bridges so that you can have a whole smile.

Spacing: if your teeth spacing isn’t what you want it to be, you don’t have to run to the nearest orthodontist. A cosmetic dentist can handle spacing and alignment issues as part of a smile makeover.

Tooth Length: smile makeovers can address short teeth through reshaping and lengthening.

Tooth Proportions: a balanced smile enhances the look of your teeth, smile, and face. A smile makeover will address the aesthetics of your teeth and mouth to give you a properly balanced smile.

Uneven Teeth: your cosmetic dentist can even out the most crooked of teeth with a smile makeover.

Unshapely face: Smile makeovers include shaping specific parts of your face. Your cosmetic dentist can help use procedures that help you attain fuller lips and cheeks.

What Is in the Smile Makeover Process?

There are a variety of procedures that cosmetic dentists use for smile makeovers. Your dentist may suggest using crowns, dental implants or bridges, porcelain veneers, Lumineers, composite bonding, teeth whitening, laser dentistry procedures, as well as oral maxillofacial surgery.

Crowns are great for dental cosmetic modifications. They can hold cracked teeth together, hold a dental bridge together, and cover misshapen or extremely discolored teeth.

Dental implants or bridges are used for adding in missing teeth.

Porcelain veneers are shells that can be bonded to the front of your teeth to change their shape, size, length, and/or color. They are a common procedure in smile makeovers as they can fix multiple issues at the same time, but they are more invasive than Lumineers.

Lumineers are a veneers option that has little to no preparation. They work best for teeth with spacing in their smiles and only minor tooth rotations. The ultra-thin Lumineers are less invasive than traditional veneers but have limited capabilities.

Composite bonding improves the appearance of your teeth. It is also used to shape your teeth, such as lengthening the two front central teeth.

Teeth whitening is a great option for moderately yellow teeth. It bleaches your teeth to obtain the whiter color. However, it does not work well for severely discolored teeth, brown or gray colored teeth, caps, veneers, crowns, or fillings. In these cases, it may be better to use crowns or veneers.

Laser dentistry is used to modify the gum line when lengthening teeth and to improve the appearance of a gummy smile. Some dentists may use it to speed up the teeth whitening process with bleach.

Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a great way to set a solid foundation for cosmetic work. It helps with placing dental implants and can help with corrective jaw, or orthognathic, surgery.

How Do I Get a Smile Makeover?

The first step to achieve your dream smile is to meet with your cosmetic dentist. They will help you determine exactly what you need and want done to perfect your smile. Your dentist will check your oral health to determine if you are ready for a smile makeover or if you need to address other oral health issues first. This includes checking your underlying support structure, bite, teeth, and gums.

Once your dentist has evaluated your teeth and mouth, they will discuss with you the available options. Every smile makeover is different, and yours will have to meet your specific needs. If your dentist uses dental imaging software to show you a preview of the results, you need to remember that it is only a preview. Your final results may look slightly different. Once you’ve determined with your dentist what procedures you need and want, you’ll be ready to start your own smile makeover and your dentist will make a model of your teeth to get started.

However, your smile makeover won’t happen in one visit. Depending on what corrective procedures you want or need, you can be done in a couple of visits or need more than a handful. This is something that your dentist will discuss with you as you plan out your smile makeover.

After you get your smile makeover, it’s important to remember to maintain your makeover. The Consumer Guide to Dentistry explains how to maintain your teeth after receiving a smile makeover.

In Boca Raton, Florida? Ericsson Dental can help you with your smile makeover and any other dental needs.