What's a typical treatment?
So what's involved in a smile makeover? Let's say you had that wear and tear on the back teeth. The surfaces are ground down, and the top and the bottom are closer together, not in a way that we want. Well then, we'd have to make a plan of how to get that space back. We'd open up the bite so not only is there room for something in the front that looks good and suits your smile line, but there's also a new surface on the back for those teeth to be durable, last a long time, and have the proper bite between the top and the bottom teeth.
How to choose a cosmetic dentist?
Okay, yeah. So you might be thinking, how do I pick the right dentist? Do I pick someone who's cosmetic, who just focuses on that? Do I pick someone who's just on some list online? The answer is you have a big decision to make. One of the most important things is that you can find someone that knows when the top and the bottom aren't fitting well together. That's a little more nuanced than just saying, hey we can put something white on the front of the teeth that looks good, like veneers or whitening. If there's any question at all in terms of the fit between the top and the bottom, you're going to want to do a deeper dive. Find someone who's taken additional training, someone who has additional certifications. Those are pretty easy to find, whether it's a cosmetic organization or a dental CE course or a continuum. Those are things that can really help point you toward someone who's done the extra work to understand the fit of the bite and how to make that work so that the fronts last as long as possible.
Tips on finding qualified cosmetic dentists
Well, all right, I'm going to pick a dentist. I saw this guy online. He's got tons of pictures. One of the most important questions you can ask if you contact that office is, are these before and afters from your office? Did that actual doctor do that treatment? This might surprise you, but not every website has cases that that doctor has treated. So when you're screening for someone to either fix your bite, do a rehab, just do some veneers, or even something as simple as whitening, it's in your best interest to do some homework. And that homework is, what do your before and afters look like? Did you do all these cases? Are these truly your patients? As well as look for some reviews and talk to someone who's had treatment with their office before. If you get any pushback whatsoever, you haven't picked the right office. Keep looking.
Difference between veneers and crowns
So what's the difference between veneers and crowns? We've talked about veneers and whitening and smile rehab, and it gets confusing. A veneer just covers. If someone asks for a veneer and we see that the biting surface is damaged, we'll automatically say, hey, let's replace both of these or repair them both simultaneously. If we can, on the other hand, only do something that's on the front or the showing surface of the tooth, and it doesn't have to involve the biting surface because that's in good shape, then we won't cover that. Dentistry's come a long way since the days of extensive treatment or invasive procedures. A lot of these procedures are much more conservative. They only involve the part of the tooth that either shows or functions, and that's a big benefit to you. The less we intervene, the more natural surface there is, the fewer problems you have afterwards. So the nice part is you don't need to know what you need, but you need to go to someone who can tell you the difference and can answer the question clearly in words so that you understand why you need one thing or another. They'll help guide you through that process of, do I need a crown? Do I need a veneer? Do I need something else? They'll say it in plain English in a way that you can understand so that you feel confident.