Smile Advice
1st: Decide what kind of smile you are looking for. We usually break it down into two styles, a natural smile or a pageant smile. A natural smile is white, but not overly white. It fits in with your face and goes along with your skin tone. A pageant smile, while still looking natural, is very white. It is one of your prominent features, but does not look unnatural.
2nd: How many teeth show in your smile This depends on how big you smile. Some people only show their top teeth while some people also show their bottom teeth. Also notice how many teeth show. Most people show at least ten teeth on the top and eight on the bottom. Also notice your teeth when you are talking and laughing. You may show more teeth than you think. Also look in the mirror from the sides. When people are talking to you, they are not always directly in front of you.
3rd: Consider how much time you have. If you are planning on enhancing your smile for a particular occasion such as a pageant, wedding, reunion, etc., plan on having your smile enhanced early. For example, if you have a pageant or wedding coming on October 15, you really want your smile finished by October 1 at the latest. But if you are taking photos prior to the October 15 date, that is your true deadline and you want to be finished a few weeks prior to this date. So for an event on October 15, you actually want your smile finished by September 1. Depending on when you are seeing your dentist, this may affect what options can be done to enhance your smile.
4th: Consider your treatment options & their cost. There are several procedures that can be done, from veneers to full coverage crowns The cost can also change depending on how many teeth are restored. We will be happy to find a way to fit your new smile into your budget.
Once you have decided on what you would like done, a wax blueprint is made of your teeth. This is where models of your teeth are sculpted in wax to exactly what you want your smile to look like. This gives us a three dimensional representation of your teeth to make sure the new smile you want will be compatible with your other teeth. Next the teeth are prepared and temporary veneers are placed on you teeth. This gives you a chance to wear your new smile for a few days and then we can make any changes you want. Have you ever saw an outfit in the Mall or in a magazine and thought it would look perfect on you? Then you bought it and tried it on at home and it was not at all what you thought it would be! The temporaries give you a chance to "wear" your new smile and then let the doctors know what you like and don't like about them.
Once you love the look and feel of your temporary veneers and impression of them are sent to the lab. Now a master ceramist will sculpt your veneers to match what was created on the computer, wax blueprint, and your temporaries. Make sure your dentist is using the best lab available to him. It does not matter how good the dentist is if the veneers do not look exactly as you want when they come back from the lab. All of us have seen smiles that were obviously not natural. This may have been dentistry done by a great dentist, but a lower quality lab, or vice versa.
The temporary veneers are then removed and the permanent veneers are tried on. After you agree that they are perfect, they are cemented on with a laser. You now have an incredible smile that you can feel confident and excited about.
