Dentistry While You Dream

Your Smile Makeover

 

During the last couple of years, there has been a lot of media attention about cosmetic dentistry, especially extreme makeovers. Our philosophy is to enhance the beauty and not create an artificial generic look. Through technological advancements, it is now possible to conservatively improve and strengthen the health and function of a patient’s appearance and smile.

 

Esthetic dentistry will not only have a tremendous effect on self-esteem it can also improve how the jaw functions. As teeth wear down or edges of them chip, the bite will eventually collapse and this will place the burden of chewing on the jaw joints not on the teeth where it was designed to take most of the pressure from chewing. This we feel is a contributing factor to TMJ problems. The other problem when teeth wear down is that it will eventually expose the underlying tooth structures and once that happens teeth will stain rapidly. Bleaching will only temporarily solve this problem and it will quickly revert back because stains have a much easier way to get inside.

 

If you are considering an enhancement of your appearance with a smile makeover, it is important to have realistic expectations. Often times a client sets their expectations too low and cannot imagine the wonderful possibilities that exist to improve ones overall appearance.

 

The most important consideration when thinking about a smile enhancement is the expertise of the cosmetic dental team. Imagine building your dream house. You wouldn’t just hire the best architect and not pay attention to the general contractor and the materials they are using to build the house. The same analogy holds true in a smile makeover. It starts with knowledgeable cosmetic dentists with an artistic flair that takes into consideration all the facial features when designing a new smile, all the way to the ceramist that can reproduce what the dentist has envisioned.

 

Often a smile makeover has been completed on a client without properly assessing the situation or envisioning the final result. This can bring on frustration since expectations were not met and the end result was unsatisfactory or worse yet, nothing really fit properly. In our office, we go through a series of records in order to:

 

1) preview and envision the final result and

2) create a blueprint that drives the process to completion.

 

These include-

 

1. Assessment Photography: We utilize the best professional digital camera system to take complete series of photos to assess the relationship of the smile with facial features, assess the color composition of the teeth and the texture of teeth. Because the lower 1/3 of the face has a major impact on the perception of facial esthetics the role of a beautiful smile is undeniable and the proper photography allows us to evaluate it.

 

2. Assessment Imaging: Imaging of teeth are done to see how the changes we will be making fits with facial profiles and allow our clients to view it and give feedback. With imaging we try to show the objective of enhancement, to provide a restoration that fits harmoniously into the facial composition.

 

3. Assessment Wax up: This is the blueprint for the smile enhancement. It is created by taking extremely accurate imprints of teeth with a material that can actually reproduce the textural detail on a brand new dollar bill. We determine and register how your teeth meet in function and chewing. This will help us to avoid any interference in the final smile makeover that could prove disastrous. We must determine how your jaw fits in your skull, for instance, is the upper jaw at a slant in relation to the rest of the face? This way we can avoid having teeth longer on one side and shorter on the other. All this information is communicated with the ceramist who will make the waxup blueprint and actually create the final restorations. The ceramist technician is so important that we have contracted with one of the best in the world. They use all the information we give them to create the most flattering and attractive smile.

 

Once the ideal relationship between the restoration and the facial soft tissues is achieved improvements in natural beauty can be expected to follow.