Everyone should smile as much as they possible can. In fact, did you know that the act of smiling gives your mood a major boost and releases endorphins into your body? Those endorphins can help reduce blood pressure and increase your endurance. It’s pretty neat how the body works.
A smile makeover can help to improve your smile and there are many different ways to do so. A smile makeover isn’t just one single solution, it’s anything that can be used to benefit your smile.
Smile Makeover Overview
Let’s start with a basic overview of just what a smile makeover is. Ultimately, a smile makeover is any type of dental process or procedure that can improve your smile in some way. These are some of the elements that a smile makeover might affect.
- Discoloration of the teeth
- Teeth length, sizing, or proportions
- Missing teeth
- Damaged teeth
- Alignment and spacing
- Facial features like lips, cheeks, and more
All of these elements are part of your smile. If you have missing teeth or perhaps large gaps in your teeth, this affects your smile. It likely affects how you feel about your smile. Of course, discoloration can also have a similar affect with your smile and how you feel.
Of course, there are several different procedures that can be used for smile makeovers. Where one person might have an extensive smile makeover process, another might just need teeth whitening.
Let’s talk more about some smile makeover options.
Teeth Whitening
One of the most basic approaches to a smile makeover is to whiten your teeth. A brighter smile could potentially make a huge difference in your smile. Discolored teeth can cause someone to be self-conscious, but it also simply takes away from the appeal of the smile.
The good news is that teeth whitening is simple. There are plenty of at-home kits that you can use but you can also work with your dental provider for the best solution. Now, there are toothpastes, gels, trays, strips, pens, laser treatments, and more.
You can use the solution that you prefer or work with your provider to determine the best whitening solution. Whitening solutions are not typically permanent so while it might last awhile, you may need to consider treating your teeth again should discoloration occur in the future.
Teeth Bonding
Another common approach might be to use a teeth bonding makeover solution. Teeth bonding is used to dress up imperfections. If a tooth is damaged, cracked, split, or chipped, you can use bonding to help fill in those issues and repair the tooth.
Bonding can also be used to fill in gaps or make a tooth that seems too short appear longer. Bonding is all about giving each tooth the individual look that it needs. This is a simple process that can happen in a short time frame with your dental provider. They can often add the bonding to the tooth at the time of your visit or have a follow up shortly after to prepare the bonding.
Bonding simply uses a composite material to fill in the area. It can be designed to match the color of your teeth so that it looks like a natural part of your tooth.
Veneers, Crowns, & Bridges
Veneers, crowns, and dental bridges are all fairly similar. They work in slightly different ways, but they have similar effects. They are designed to fill in either where a tooth is in bad shape or where a tooth is completely missing.
Crowns can typically be placed without having to do substantial work. They are just made to fit the space and typically go over a tooth. A dental crown can be porcelain to match the color of natural teeth, but gold and silver crowns have also been used in the past. These are less common now.
Veneers are again just a shell for your teeth. They don’t even cover the entire tooth but instead just put a tooth-colored shell at the front of your tooth. The effect is s tooth that looks natural but also looks great and no one has to know that behind the veneer that tooth might be struggling.
Bridges are typically used to replace missing teeth. They can be used for one or more tooth that is missing and is essentially an artificial tooth, possibly more than one. A bridge is cemented into place in order to give you a false tooth where a tooth is missing completely and fill in the gap
Implants
Implants are a permanent or semi-permanent addition to your mouth. Dental mplants are used to replace missing teeth and can even be used for a whole mouth of missing teeth in some circumstances.
Implants can be used following an extraction. An implant is placed into your mouth using a titanium post that implants directly into your jawbone. As the implant heals, the post becomes fused with your jawbone, and it simply becomes a normal part of your mouth. These last for long periods of time so they are quite popular for replacing missing teeth.
Implants have quickly become more popular than dentures because they fit better and tend to last longer.
Alignment Tools
The final common smile makeover tool are alignment tools. Alignment tools like clear aligners or braces are used to help straighten teeth, align teeth, and simply move your teeth into a better position. Aligning teeth can absolutely do a lot to improve your smile. You would be surprised at how much braces can do for your smile.
Braces and aligners aren’t just for straightening teeth. They can also fill gaps, pull teeth up or down to elongate them, and even help to move your jaw if you have an underbite or an overbite as well.
All of these factors are part of your smile.
What is Considered for a Smile Makeover?
When you want a smile makeover, you might already have any number of these processes, but you might also need just one. If you go in with the intent of a smile makeover, your dental provider can work with you to determine the best plan for your smile.
Let’s briefly discuss some of the things that might be considered.
Tooth Length
The length of your teeth matters. When you smile in the mirror and something seems off, it might just be that your tooth is too short or even too long. As you get older, your teeth actually wear down and get shorter. This might be a situation where teeth bonding can help improve the length of your teeth.
When you smile, if you feel like you see a lot of gum and not enough teeth, it very easily could be because you need tooth length. Veneers or bonding might be an ideal solution.
Tooth Proportions
The proportion of your teeth also are significant here. Do the proportions all coincide together and line up in a way that makes sense? How do the teeth around your two front teeth measure up? Your two front teeth are the center piece and most often the focal point.
This means that your other teeth should proportion to those teeth and not take over them or dominate the space in comparison.
Tooth Features
Next up, you have things like teeth that just don’t seem to look right. In some cases, it’s because of damage but it might just be that a tooth didn’t grow right or perhaps just has something off about it. Again, teeth bonding or veneers might help here but other issues like alignment might also be affecting the features of the tooth.
Tooth Color
Tooth color is an important part of your smile. This is often simply treated with some sort of tooth whitening process. If your teeth are yellow or discolored, it’s one of the easiest and most affordable fixes that you can take advantage of.
Facial Features
Finally, an important part of your smile is your face. Your entire face works together with your mouth and teeth to create that smile. A partial or complete smile makeover might include looking at your facial features and considering how everything works together to create your smile.
Most facial features might require more extensive dental procedures, but it is also possible that something like braces could improve even your jaw placement and make a huge difference in your smile. Every element should be considered so that your smile makeover actually accomplishes what you want.
Final Thoughts
A smile makeover really looks different for every person. What you need for your smile makeover could very well differ from someone else. This is because we were all made to have unique smiles. The good news is that there is a standard approach to improving smiles and it includes looking at all of the factors to determine what can be done for your smile.
If you’re looking for a simple smile makeover that doesn’t cost much, you can always start with teeth whitening. This is a great start to a smile makeover. Of course, there are many different options so be sure to work with your dental provider for the best solution.
