What Is A Smile Make Over?

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Dr. Nushin Shir

One of the first features people see when they look at your face is your smile. For some, this can be a great source of pride, but for others, a real cause for pain and embarrassment. Genetics aside, the tooth of the matter is that a smile makeover can improve your image and self-esteem - and that is really something to smile about!

What is a Smile Make Over?

The process of improving the appearance of the smile through one or more cosmetic dental procedures, such as dental veneers, composite bonding, dental implants or teeth whitening is a Smile Makeover. Most makeovers just involve the upper teeth because that's what we show when we smile.

The ideal smile makeover treatment plan is designed to achieve a brighter and balanced smile that flatters the individual features of the face. This treatment plan may consist of many cosmetic and functionally restorative procedures, potentially including teeth whitening, bonding, porcelain laminate veneers, dental crowns, orthodontics, oral maxillofacial surgery and gummy smile reduction.

To develop an ideal smile, many elements must be ...
... taken into consideration, including your facial appearance, skin tone, hair color, teeth (color, width, length, shape and tooth display), gum tissue and lips.

No two smiles are alike. The first step before starting smile makeover is a complete and thorough examination by an expert cosmetic dentist to determine your oral health. Any dental health issues such as caries or gum disease should be addressed and corrected before any cosmetic work begins. Any and all future dental work will be at risk for failing if a person's decay rate is not brought under control. When a healthy foundation is ready, you can move on to the artistry of a smile make over. Your goals and expectations should be thoroughly discussed with your cosmetic dentist. Topics to chew on may include, what you want your smile to look like, what you don't like and what you would like to see changed. Together, you will determine the style of your new smile. Your dentist may even show you a Smile Style Guide that illustrates many different smiles.

There are several attributes of your teeth, smile and face that should be evaluated for a successful smile makeover. These include:

Tooth Color: The current shade or color of the teeth varies with time, age and personal habits. Well-worn teeth with yellow, orange and brown stains indicate an aged mouth. In addition, past, visible silver dental fillings do not blend well with natural tooth color. Natural, tooth-colored restorations and teeth whitening can improve the color of stained teeth discolored teeth and older, silver fillings.

Missing Teeth: Accidents happen. Maybe we chip a tooth or knock one out. Missing teeth can negatively affect the appearance of your smile - as well as affect your bite- making replacement an integral part of oral health and facial esthetics. Missing teeth can be replaced by dental implants, bridges or partial dentures.

Harmony and Balance: Uneven, chipped and cracked teeth disrupt the overall look of your smile.

Damaged teeth can be cosmetically bonded for an improved appearance. Attention to the gum line is also important to consider. If the upper teeth appear short, or are overshadowed by excessive gum tissue, a gummy smile is the result. The good news is that a gummy smile can be corrected through various treatment options, including gum re-contouring, to help improve the overall look of the smile and gum to tooth ratio.

Facial Features, Lips, Smile and Cheeks: Plastic surgery is not always the answer! An unshapely or aging lower face can be improved or rejuvenated with certain procedures in the smile makeover category. To get plumper, younger and fuller lips, you may consider dermal fillers and dental procedures to achieve the appearance of fuller lips and a stronger chin.

Tooth Length: Longer, well-proportioned teeth enhance a youthful appearance. The aging process produces wear and tear, often resulting in shorter teeth. A gummy smile can also make teeth appear shorter. A smile makeover treatment for shorter teeth may include reshaping and lengthening the two front central teeth with composite bonding or porcelain veneers. If you have a gummy smile, you may need treatments to modify the gum line and lengthen the appearance of the teeth. Teeth lengthening can impact your overall facial appearance. For example, shapely, long, square teeth on a round-faced individual can provide a slimming effect.

Smile Line: The smile line is an imaginary line that follows the edges of your upper teeth from side to side, which ideally should be the same as the curve of your lower lip when you smile. This standard point of reference for smile makeovers may be used to help determine how long your new teeth should be.

Tooth Proportions: Teeth should have correct proportions with each other. Most people recognize a pleasing smile as one in which the two central front teeth are dominant and have a pleasing width-to-length ratio. This proportion guides the length and width of other teeth in the esthetic zone so that the smile line appears balanced.

Tooth Texture and Characterization: Cosmetic dentistry should be able to blend functionality and esthetics. An artistic dentist can characterize your crowns or veneers to create a more feminine or a more masculine appearance, in addition to matching the look and feel of natural teeth, or those you've seen in photographs.

Article Provided By Dr. Nushin Shir

Dr. Shir has recently accepted an academic position at West Coast University, teaching part time in the Dental Hygiene Program on the subject of dental materials. Through this endeavor, Dr. Shir will to able to use her expertise to educate the future generation of dentists. Dr. Shir is also known as one the best dentist Santa Monica.