Smile Design
If you look at your smile in the mirror, what stands out? What do you like about your teeth, and what do you wish was different? Now imagine your ideal smile. That vision can become a reality with a cosmetic-dentistry process known as smile design. With a well-planned series of procedures, dental imperfections such as stains, chips, crowding, and gaps will be a thing of the past. For those interested in several cosmetic procedures, our Victoria practice offers individualized smile makeovers that can dramatically transform any smile.
What Is Smile Design?
Smile Design is the process of improving the appearance of the smile through one or more cosmetic dentistry procedures, such as porcelain veneers, dental bonding, or teeth whitening.
In order to help you achieve your ideal smile, our experienced cosmetic dentist, Dr. Pite, will ask about your concerns and will discuss the procedures best suited to your goals. We will perform a comprehensive exam of your mouth to consider your tooth size, tooth alignment, gum line symmetry, and facial shape. We may also use x-rays, dental photography, and detailed measurements to help guide our treatment.
Dr. Pite will use this information to develop a customized, comprehensive treatment plan that may include a number of cosmetic, general, and restorative dentistry procedures. The goal is to give you a beautiful, functional, and healthy smile.
What Are the Common Reasons for Smile Design?
A dazzling, healthy smile can brighten up your whole face. Candidates for smile design often have two or more of the following concerns:
- Stains and tooth discoloration that make the teeth appear dark and aged
- Decay and erosion that looks unsightly and unhealthy
- Older fillings that have darkened or have started to show a black line between the tooth and filling
- Broken, chipped teeth that give people the impression you don’t take care of yourself
- Rotated, crowded, or poorly aligned teeth that create a crooked smile
- Gaps between teeth that are a source of embarrassment
What Is Involved in Smile Design?
Whether made up of entirely cosmetic treatments or combined with restorative procedures, smile design is not typically a quick fix. The length of your entire treatment will depend on a number of factors, including how many procedures are being performed and the recovery time needed between procedures. Because smile design delivers such dramatic, long-lasting results, most patients feel the commitment is well worth it.
One of the most common aspects of smile design is tooth color. To reduce the appearance of stains and discolorations, we may recommend teeth whitening, a straightforward treatment usually completed in one hour that provides substantially whiter teeth. Older silver or amalgam fillings can be replaced with natural, tooth-colored composite restorations to complement the whitening process.
For staining that cannot be addressed with teeth whitening, porcelain veneers or crowns might provide better results. Although a more involved process, the advantage of veneers and crowns is that the treatment also corrects size and shape in addition to color. By concealing irregularities in tooth size, shape, and color, veneers and crowns can give you a well-proportioned, flawless smile. Minor defects, like chips and cracks, can be corrected with dental bonding, a tooth-colored resin that is color matched to your natural tooth.
Beyond purely cosmetic treatments, smile makeovers sometimes involve bridges or dental implants to replace missing teeth. Restoring all teeth and replacing missing teeth allows for proper eating and speaking as well as improved appearance. Occasionally, smile makeovers include orthodontics to properly align the teeth or periodontal treatments to even out the gum line. These treatments provide a foundation for healthier, straighter teeth.
Learn More About Smile Makeovers
If you would like to improve the overall appearance of your smile, smile design may be a suitable way to give you an entirely new smile. To learn if you are a good candidate for smile design, we invite you to schedule a consultation with Dr. Pite. We look forward to helping you achieve your ideal smile!
