When you begin a smile makeover in our office, you are embarking on an exciting partnership with my laboratory technician and me. You should be full of excitement and anticipation — if you have been dissatisfied with your current smile, and you have great expectations for the results of this project. You will really like what you see in your mirror.

Being completely satisfied with your new look depends upon successful communication — between you and me and also between my dental lab technician and me. As you might expect, your perceptions of how your teeth appear are different from a dentist's perceptions. My education leads me to think of factors that untrained individuals probably won't consider, such as crown (tooth) length, midlines (how the teeth line up with other facial features) and the distance from gum to lip.

It is helpful to be able to describe what you like and don't like about your current smile, and what changes you would like to see. Using visual aids is a good idea. Bring photos and magazine illustrations to show what you have in mind. (Remember that we cannot make you look exactly like a celebrity or anyone else. The pictures are guidelines.)

Things to think about:

• The color, size, shape, alignment and spacing of your teeth.
• How much of your teeth and gum tissues show when your lips are relaxed and when you smile.
• Tooth color: bright “Hollywood” white or more natural looking off-white.

Your makeover is more likely to meet your expectations if you get an advanced view of the results. Computer imaging is one way to do this. Another is for us to make a mock-up of the proposed dental work in tooth-colored wax on models of your mouth.

Finally, a “Provisional Restoration” can be used as a test to make sure that what I envision is also what you, the patient, want to see. A provisional restoration, made from temporary materials, gives you a chance to test out the changes and make sure they work for you — that they not only look good, but they are also functional in terms of biting, chewing, speech, and gum health.

If the provisional restoration works, it is used as a blueprint to make durable and long lasting porcelains in the same design. We will take impressions of the provisional restoration and communicate the relevant information to a dental laboratory technician, who will make the final porcelain tooth replicas for your new smile.

Competent communication and a provisional restoration will put you on track to meet your expectations and obtain the most aesthetic and functional result in your Smile Makeover.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your questions about Smile Makeovers. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Great Expectations — Perceptions in Smile Design.”

When it comes to cosmetic dentistry, we have numerous techniques that we can use to produce a dazzling smile while restoring or helping you maintain optimal oral health. From tooth whitening and gum contouring to bonding and veneers, see how much you really know about cosmetic dentistry by playing our matching game.

1. Whitening
2. Bonding
3. Enamel shaping
4. Orthodontics
5. Veneers
6. Crowns and bridgework
7. Implants
8. Gum contouring

1. ______ is a minor surgical procedure in which we alter the position of the gum tissue and sometimes even the underlying bone.
2. ______ is a treatment option that is not permanent and may require several applications to achieve the desired color results.
3. ______ is a restorative technique that involves applying an a tooth colored filling material (composite resin) to a tooth that is color-matched and shaped to restore a decayed or damaged tooth.
4. ______ is a treatment option for restoring heavily damaged teeth or replacing missing teeth.
5. ______ is a procedure in which small amounts of enamel, a tooth's outer layer, is removed to reshape it to improve the look of a tooth.
6. ______ is a minor cosmetic procedure in which we apply a peroxide-based material to bleach out minor stains and discoloration from teeth.
7. ______ is a procedure in which we permanently replace a missing tooth by attaching a crown (artificial tooth) to a titanium post that has been surgically placed within the jaw.
8. ______ is a treatment option in which teeth are aligned into a proper position giving a more attractive appearance. It is often used in conjunction with other cosmetic procedures.
9. ______ is a cosmetic technique where we place a custom-designed, thin shell of tooth-colored material (usually porcelain) to the front surface of a tooth.
10. ______ is the most common technique for repairing chipped, broken or decayed teeth. It may also be used to alter the shape of a small or irregular tooth.

Answers: 1) H. 2) A. 3) B. 4) F. 5) C. 6) A. 7) G. 8) D. 9) E. 10) B

To learn more about cosmetic and restorative dentistry, continue reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Beautiful Smiles by Design.” Or you can contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your specific questions.

We have noticed that there are two types of patients when it comes to enhancing a person's smile. One type, which we'll call the “Perfect Minded” patient, expects teeth that are completely regular in their arrangement and of maximum whiteness and brightness, often beyond the range of traditional guides for tooth color. They are looking for a perfect “Hollywood” smile. The other, the “Natural Minded” patient, is looking for a more natural look. This person expects a general sense of regularity and alignment of teeth with definite brightness, but not so much that the teeth are noticeable before and above other facial features. Which type are you?

The “Perfect Minded” Patient
While you expect maximum regularity and alignment of teeth along with maximum whiteness and brightness, the “perfect minded” patient requires a smile completely symmetrical (balanced from one side to the other). If we drew a vertical line down the center of your face (midline), it would fall directly between your front teeth and your smile would look just the same on each side of the line. You also expect your smile to be horizontally symmetric, so that it matches the curvature of your lower lip and the gum lines match from side to side.

The “Natural Minded” Patient
You are looking for a more subtle, natural look produced by including some minor irregularities in your look. Like the “Perfect Minded” individual, you still expect your teeth to be generally regular and well aligned but you also want to have some minor asymmetries (not matching) as you move farther back along your jaw to make your teeth look real. Your preference in tooth color is not a super shade of white, but for a tooth color that looks very natural for your facial skin and hair color.

There is no right or wrong here. What is important is to be sure to communicate your expectations to us before embarking on a program of smile redesign.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your questions about Smile Design. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Great Expectations — Perceptions in Smile Design.”

Being unhappy with your smile can impact your life in ways that you might not even realize. Are you awkward in social situations that require smiling? Do you shy away from becoming romantically involved? You may even miss out on a better job because you don't want to be forced to endure a live interview for fear of smiling!

If you've decided that the time is right to regain some self-confidence by having your smile redesigned, we can help. We will begin with a consultation, during which we will discuss a number of factors that will influence the process and the final result of your smile makeover including:

• What do you want from a new smile?
• How do you want your new teeth to look?
• How we can use photographs and computer simulations to show you what your new smile will look like before we even start.
• How we work with dental technicians to test shapes, sizes, and colors to personalize teeth so that they closely match your natural teeth.
• How we use “customized temporary restorations” to let you test-drive the look and feel of the final crowns and veneers.

We can even show you “before and after” photos taken of our many patients throughout the course of their makeovers. And, of course, we will discuss the costs to you with respect to both time and money based on the extent and type of work that is necessary to give you your ideal smile.

The tools that are now at our disposal can make the entire smile redesign process an essentially painless and highly creative collaboration that includes constant interaction between you, us, and dental laboratory technicians as we all work together to create your new smile. If you think you are ready to start exploring the possibilities, please call our office to set up a consultation. To learn more about cosmetic dentistry, read the Dear Doctor magazine article “Cosmetic Dentistry: A Time For Change.”