creating your best smile
SIX STEPS TO CREATE YOUR BEST SMILE
1. DISEASE CONTROL
A beautiful smile is a healthy smile. Before we can start making changes to the colour, alignment and shape of your teeth we need to remove any infections, decay, bacteria, broken down unsatisfactory dental work and unsaveable teeth to create a solid foundation. There is a wide range of options available in this area, and always the option to have your work carried out under sedation. We can discuss replacement of missing teeth at this stage. Typically we will divide the mouth into 4 areas which we work on individually. Biology has showed us that the back teeth protect the front teeth, and once this is complete we can move onto the next phase of your treatment
2. ALIGNMENT
The next stage is to create proper alignment of the teeth. Well aligned teeth provide a great foundation for a smile, involve no irreversible damage to your teeth and allow easier cleaning and maintenance. Improved alignment of teeth help chewing, biting and speaking, allow improved alignment of the jaws and airway. Teeth that work better tend to look better. This part of the treatment is usually achieved with clear aligners.
3. BRIGHTENING
During the aligning part of your journey is a great time to improve the brightness of your smile. This can usually be done while you sleep by using overnight gels that are placed in the aligners. These results typically take 1-2 weeks, but there are other options available. By improving the colour of the smile at this stage allows me to match and restorations to the improved colour of your smile. In some cases, non invasive treatment such as brightening gels may not achieve the colour we desire, and alternative options can be completed in the next stage.
4. CONTOURING
This is an optional stage, which is not always required to create a beautiful smile. After aligning and brightening the smile, we may notice that the contours of the individual teeth do not create an aesthetic flow of the smile. This stage is to improve the shapes of the teeth, which is typically done with ceramic/porcelain veneers or composite bonding. Composite bonding is using the same material used for white fillings to improve the smile. Ceramic can be used in cases where more tooth structure needs to be replaced, or a better colour and shape is needed. As some of these options are irreversible, we will discuss this in detail before any treatment is decided.
5. FINISHING
This stage gives us time to add any little tweaks to really make the smile come together. In this stage we focus more on the ‘frame’ than the ‘painting’ itself. The frame is typically the lips, skin and surrounding facial features that also contribute to the smile. We may discuss options to enhance the skin, lips and facial features here if you would like.
6. PROTECTION
2. Home oral hygiene maintenance
3. Maintaining ideal tooth alignment
4. Maintaining ideal smile brightness
5. Protecting any dental restorations
