Smile design is not a treatment in itself. It is the plan made before any cosmetic work, so that whatever is done, whitening, veneers, aligners or crowns, fits your face and you have seen the result before a tooth is touched.
What we look at
A smile that looks right is mostly about proportion. We study:
- Your face: the midline, the line of your eyes, and how much tooth shows when your lips are at rest and when you smile.
- The teeth: their shape, length, width and colour, and how they relate to each other. Front teeth that are slightly longer than wide usually look most natural.
- The gums: how evenly the gum line frames the teeth, and how much gum shows in a full smile.
- Your bite: cosmetic work has to survive chewing, so the bite is planned with the looks.
Seeing it first
From photos, a short video and a 3D scan of your teeth, we design the new smile on screen and show you a preview. For many plans we can then make a trial: a thin tooth-coloured layer pressed over your own teeth, so you can see and feel the shape in your own mouth and change your mind before anything is permanent.
What it can lead to
Depending on what you want and what your teeth need, the plan might use:
- teeth whitening for colour;
- bonding to reshape a chipped or uneven edge;
- ceramic veneers to change shape and colour together;
- aligners to straighten first, so less tooth needs changing;
- crowns where teeth are heavily filled or damaged;
- gum reshaping where the gum line is uneven.
Often a better result uses less, not more. Straightening first, for example, can mean veneers on four teeth instead of eight.
What it cannot do
Smile design cannot make every face look like a photograph, and it should not make healthy teeth weaker for a small gain. If the honest answer is that whitening alone gets you most of the way, that is what we tell you. Our guide to what cosmetic dentistry can and cannot do goes into more detail.
Read more about digital smile design, or a full smile makeover.