What is Smile Makeover?
Smile makeovers are personalized treatments designed to enhance your smile by addressing various dental concerns, including discoloration, misalignment, and missing teeth. Our comprehensive smile design process evaluates the color, alignment, balance, tooth length, proportions, texture, characterization, and smile line to create a harmonious and natural-looking smile.
With careful consideration and planning, we aim to create a straighter, whiter and beautiful natural looking smiles to give you more reasons to smile.
Comprehensive Smile Makeover Treatment Options
Tooth Reshaping (Enameloplasty)
Our teeth naturally undergo physiological wear and tear over time, which may affect how they look. Sometimes all it takes is subtle touch-ups to rejuvenate them.
Tooth reshaping is a fundamental procedure in smile design, effectively addressing minor imperfections to enhance the overall appearance of your smile. It corrects minor imperfections by removing small amounts of tooth enamel. It is a simple and fast way to smooth out small chips, rough spots or uneven edges to create a symmetrical smile.
Dental Bonding and Tooth-Coloured Fillings
Dental bonding and tooth-coloured fillings are essential components of smile makeovers, restoring damaged or decayed teeth to their natural form and function while enhancing your smile’s aesthetics. Using a tooth-coloured composite resin, the material is applied, shaped, and polished to repair areas affected by decay, chips, wear, or minor gaps—resulting in a natural-looking finish that blends seamlessly with your existing teeth.
This can be paired with tooth reshaping in situations where there is more loss of tooth enamel. In general, fillings and bonding are commonly used to restore or rebuild small-to-moderate areas of tooth structure, while veneers may be recommended when you’re looking to address more comprehensive cosmetic changes across the front surface of the teeth.
Gum Recontouring (Gingivoplasty)
Gum recontouring, also known as gingivoplasty, is a specialized procedure in smile design that addresses uneven gum lines or “gummy smile” concerns by gently reshaping excess gum tissue. This helps create a more even and aesthetically pleasing gum line, improving the overall balance of your smile.
By refining the gum line, gum recontouring enhances the tooth-to-gum proportion, making teeth appear more symmetrical and properly proportioned for a more harmonious smile.
Dental Veneers
Veneers are thin, custom-made shells carefully crafted to cover imperfections such as discolouration, gaps, chips, or misshapen and misaligned teeth. They create a seamless and natural look, and are a good option for correcting cosmetic concerns because they can be designed to match the colour and shape of your natural teeth, as well as to close existing gaps.
Veneers can be made from different materials, such as porcelain veneers or composite veneers. Porcelain veneers are known for their durability and lifelike finish, while composite veneers can be shaped and refined directly on the tooth in a more conservative manner for selected cases. We specialise in minimally-invasive dental veneers that are custom-made to fit your teeth, improving the appearance of your smile without the need for extensive treatment. For porcelain veneers, treatment is typically completed in just over two to three visits.
Teeth Whitening
Teeth can become stained over time due to various factors such as ageing, excessive consumption of dark-coloured foods and beverages like coffee and red wine or simply due to poor oral hygiene practices. Teeth whitening is a safe and efficient procedure to achieve a more aesthetically pleasing smile. It is a fast and effective option for brightening natural teeth.
Professional whitening treatments, including the use of specialised whitening gel and in-office (or chairside) procedures, are often part of a comprehensive smile makeover as these methods provide clear and visible results.
Dental Crowns, Bridges and Implants
Dental crowns are especially beneficial for damaged or weakened teeth, as they can cover teeth with large fillings and help protect them from further damage. Dental bridges are used to replace one or more missing teeth by filling the gap and restoring your bite, while dental implants provide a permanent tooth replacement option by replacing both the tooth and its root for long-term stability.
Dental prosthesis plays a vital role in enhancing your smile by restoring your teeth’s health, function and appearance—helping you chew and speak properly again while giving you a beautiful and confident smile.
Orthodontic Treatments (Invisible Aligners / Braces)
Invisible aligners provide an alternative to traditional metal braces for straightening teeth that is removable and more comfortable. As part of a total smile makeover and smile design plan, clear aligners (such as Invisalign) can help correct misalignment, crowding, and spacing, creating a more balanced and aligned smile.
They offer a high level of convenience and comfort, and the aligners are practically invisible—making them a discreet option for many patients. Not all teeth are moved at the same time, which provides greater control than regular braces.
For cases that require more complex tooth movement or more predictable control, metal braces may be recommended. Braces work by applying steady pressure to gradually move teeth into better alignment and can be suitable for correcting a wider range of bite and alignment concerns.
Orthodontic treatment may also be recommended as part of a comprehensive smile makeover plan, especially when improving tooth positioning helps support longer-lasting aesthetic results.
Understanding Your Options: Braces vs Veneers
Dental veneers and orthodontic braces are two popular choices when it comes to improving your smile. While both can address concerns like uneven-looking teeth and spacing, they do so in very different ways—because they serve different purposes.
Braces (including metal braces) or invisible aligners are primarily used for structural teeth alignment. They gradually shift teeth into their proper position by applying controlled pressure over time. This helps correct common orthodontic issues such as crowding, gaps, crooked teeth, and bite problems (for example, overbite, underbite, crossbite, or open bite). In addition to enhancing appearance, orthodontic treatment can also improve how your teeth fit together for better function.
Veneers, on the other hand, are designed for cosmetic enhancement. They are thin, custom-made shells that cover the front surface of teeth to improve concerns such as discolouration, chips, worn edges, minor gaps, or irregular tooth shape. Veneers can also help improve the appearance of mildly misaligned teeth, but they do not physically move teeth like braces or aligners do.
A common question we receive is: “Can veneers effectively fix crooked teeth, or are braces the more suitable option?” The answer depends on the cause and severity of the concern. Some patients may benefit from both treatments in sequence—for example, orthodontic treatment first to align teeth and improve bite, followed by veneers to refine tooth shape, colour, and overall symmetry.
Situations where a dental veneer may be the best solution:
- Chipped or cracked tooth or teeth
- Discolored tooth or teeth
- Teeth that are worn down
- Irregularly shaped teeth (e.g., teeth that are smaller or have an abnormal shape)
Situations where braces or invisible aligners may be the best solution:
- Bite misalignment: overbite, underbite, open bite, or crossbite
- Gaps in between teeth or spaced teeth
- Top and bottom teeth don’t meet in the front or back properly
- Crooked or crowded teeth
Other functional issues such as pain or difficulty chewing or biting
Because every smile is different, the most suitable option is best determined through a personalised consultation, where we assess your bite, tooth alignment, and aesthetic goals before recommending the right approach for your smile makeover plan.
Why Choose Elements Dental for Your Smile Makeover and Design?
A beautiful smile is the first thing that anyone sees when they meet you. A smile makeover can be beneficial for many reasons, including:
- Improved oral health – A smile makeover can address dental issues like misaligned teeth, decay, and wear.
- Increased confidence – Help you feel more confident and comfortable in social situations.
- Better appearance: A smile makeover can improve the aesthetic of your teeth, making them look more uniform and pleasing.
At Elements Dental, our mission is to redefine the dental experience, making it simple, comfortable and focused on achieving desired results. Regarding dental veneers, our dentists use evidence-based methods to create a perfect balance between function and aesthetics. Our team is always on hand to answer your questions and guide you through every step of your treatment. No two individuals and no two smiles are alike. Each smile is a work of art with its own intricacies and personality. We approach smile makeovers with this philosophy in mind, to deliver personalised care and utmost attention to detail.
If you want to improve your smile with dental veneers or explore other treatments, Elements Dental is here to help you achieve the smile you desire.
Smile Makeover FAQs
A smile makeover is the process of enhancing or improving the appearance of a smile using a combination of cosmetic dentistry procedures tailored to your needs. From teeth whitening and dental veneers to dental crowns and braces, a smile makeover addresses various dental concerns to give you a smile that you will be confident with and proud of.
In general, the price of creating a beautiful smile through smile makeovers can have a wide range, depending on your areas of concern and what you wish to achieve. Dental veneers typically play a central role in a smile makeover, and prices start from $700 per unit, depending on the material used.
If your teeth have great shape and alignment and only need whitening and a few fillings, our teeth whitening services start from $650, and tooth coloured composite fillings start from $250.
A smile makeover is suitable for all ages. Teens seek to correct alignment issues, adults enhance aesthetics in their twenties or thirties, and middle-aged or older individuals seek rejuvenation and improved function on top of the aesthetics.
The average lifespan of smile makeover components varies, and individual factors can impact the longevity of the treatment. These factors are listed below:
- Maintenance: Proper oral hygiene can help to prevent decay and gum disease. Avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol can also help prolong your smile makeover. Schedule regular visits to your dentist for a check up and cleaning to ensure you are on top of things.
- Type of procedure: The lifespan of a smile makeover can vary depending on the type of dental procedure done. For example, tooth whitening treatments usually last six months to two years before it needs to be repeated, while veneers can last 10-15 years with proper care.
- Individual factors: Individual factors can also affect how long your smile makeover lasts. For example, if you have crooked or misshapen teeth, these conditions can affect the lifespan of your smile makeover. Teeth grinding or clenching may also impact the longevity of your results.
Dental veneers are a cosmetic procedure, so you don’t need to get braces before getting fitted for veneers, but it’s a good idea. Since veneers impact your bite, your teeth should be in the correct position before getting them. Starting with straighter teeth makes it easier to get the results you’re looking for with veneers. It is also a more conservative option as it will minimise the need to shave and adjust your teeth prior to veneers.
While you can technically get veneers as soon as your orthodontic treatment is done, the general advice is to wait 3 – 6 months. This gives your teeth time to settle into their new position and for your gums to heal properly.
In general, invisible braces work just as effectively as metal braces. Invisible braces can be more effective in some cases as they are less noticeable and way more comfortable than metal braces. This encourages patients to stick with their treatment plan for as long as needed. This can also be beneficial for people who are self-conscious about their teeth or want to avoid the “metal mouth” look that comes with traditional braces.
Additionally, the invisible aligners can be removed for eating and brushing, lowering the risk of food getting stuck in your teeth and causing cavities.