As the name suggests a smile makeover is a new smile that has been designed to look better in many ways. It may align crowded teeth, close gaps, reduce protrusion, whiten, reduce a gummy smile, widen a narrow smile, change the length or shape of teeth, replace missing teeth or any combination of the above. A smile makeover usually involves at least the top eight or ten teeth and sometimes the lower eight or ten teeth too. The most frequent treatments used in a smile makeover are multiple porcelain veneers not only the most conservative restoration but also they are strong and highly aesthetic.
However, porcelain crowns, bridges, implants and even implant supported dentures can also be part of a smile makeover depending on the case. Smile makeovers can also involve rapid orthodontics using Inman aligners to either prealign teeth prior to multiple porcelain veneers or to align minor crowding of the lower teeth when only the upper teeth are to be veneered. If upper teeth only are being treated with veneers then lower teeth are usually at least whitened.
Consultation with Computer aided smile design
At our clinic, our smile makeover involves a design stage using computer aided smile design. This is a process in which a photo of a patients teeth are redesigned by using powerful graphics software. Patients can help design their own perfect smile.
Teeth Straightening
Teeth can be straightened using either orthodontics or porcelain veneers, or a combination of both.
Orthodontic options to straighten teeth:
Inman aligner. The Inman aligner is the fastest way to straigthen teeth with a removable appliance. It is excellent for aligning mainly just crowding of the front four teeth. For adults this the most common form of crowding so it can be used in many different cases. Treatment times typically take from 6 to 16 weeks.
Invisalign. Invisalign use a very high-tech manufacturing process to make a series of removable clear plastic aligners, which makes them almost invisible. Invisalign can straighten teeth over a slightly broader range of cases than the Inman aligner but still cannot be used for severe crowding. Invisalign has the added advantage of having little effect on speech. However, treatment times are typically from 6 to 18 months.
Lingual braces. These are like conventional fixed braces except the brackets are bonded to the inside of the teeth so they are invisible to others. Lingual braces can be used to straighten teeth from almost all case types. Treatment times may vary depending on case type typically from 6 to 24 months.
Inman Aligner: Treatment just takes 7 weeks with an Inman Aligner