Things to Know about a Smile Makeover

What is a smile makeover? It is not just a series of steps taken to give you a more attractive smile, and it will usually include an assessment of your face, jaw, and overall appearance in order to give the best results.

Generally, the most common tactics used by a cosmetic dentist in order to perform a smile makeover are teeth whitening procedures, dental veneer applications, dental implants and crowns, and even composite fillings as well.

It helps to understand that cosmetic dentists are not doing treatments meant to improve the health of the teeth, but are instead working to improve the appearance of them. This means that they are going to generally look at the overall condition of each individual tooth and how they happen to affect the smile. This is the reason that such an array of procedures tend to be included in a smile makeover.

Obviously the first step is to select a cosmetic dentist who will perform a consultation and assessment of your teeth. It helps to ask your regular dentist as well as friends and co-workers for any recommendations. Once you make your choice you should be sure that they will provide you with a thorough exam that might include recommendations for repair or restorative work before any cosmetic techniques can be used. They should also be prepared to work with licensed oral surgeons in the event that procedures such as dental implants or crowns are necessary.

In addition to receiving their recommendations you should also be able to ask them why certain treatments were recommended over others. For example, if there are veneers mentioned without teeth whitening being recommended as well you will want to ask the cosmetic dentist exactly why this is the case. Usually this is because the staining or discoloring of the teeth might be too advanced, or pre-existing gum disease might make the use of bleaching agents too uncomfortable.