A wedding invitation, a reunion save-the-date, a vacation someone will photograph: some events make a long-ignored smile concern feel more immediate.
A smile makeover is a customized plan your dentist builds around your situation: what you'd like to change, what your exam reveals, and your goals. At ProHEALTH Dental, the process starts with a conversation.
Thinking about cosmetic dentistry this summer? Book a consultation online. Our dentists will walk you through your options.
What Is a Smile Makeover?
"Smile makeover" describes a dentist-built plan, one starting from your exam rather than a menu of options. What the plan includes depends on what your teeth, gums, and bite show.
Our providers take time to explain what they see, what they recommend, and why. You leave the appointment with more information than you arrived with. If the exam shows something you hadn't noticed, your dentist walks you through what they found. You decide how to move forward from the options in front of you.
If you have one thing you'd like to change or several, the process works the same way. The scope depends on what your exam shows.
What Services Does a Smile Makeover Involve?
The treatments depend on what you'd like to change. Two patients with similar concerns walk out with completely different plans.
Whitening is where most discoloration concerns start. Professional whitening uses hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide to break stains into smaller pieces, making teeth appear brighter. Your dentist may offer in-office whitening or custom take-home trays depending on your goals and timeline.
Dental bonding is a different approach: your dentist applies tooth-colored composite resin directly to the tooth to address chips, small gaps, or minor discoloration. No enamel removal is required, and bonding is often done in a single visit.
Contouring, also called enameloplasty, reshapes tooth enamel to smooth minor irregularities or improve symmetry. Dentists often pair contouring with bonding for more complete results.
Veneers are thin shells placed over the front surface of a tooth to change its color, shape, or size. Porcelain veneers are stain-resistant and durable; composite veneers require less enamel removal and are often placed in fewer visits.
Crowns cover the entire tooth and are the option when a tooth is significantly discolored, misshapen, or has structural concerns alongside cosmetic ones.
What your dentist recommends depends on your teeth, your goals, and your oral health.
Why Does Oral Health Come First?
Your dentist addresses decay or gum disease before any cosmetic work begins. Placing veneers or bonding over a tooth with active decay worsens what's already there, which is why the sequence doesn’t change.
Whitening has limits worth knowing before you build your plan. The procedure doesn't work on caps, veneers, crowns, or existing fillings, and won't correct discoloration caused by certain medications or trauma. Your dentist identifies these factors during the exam. If whitening is part of your plan, knowing where whitening applies changes how the rest of the sequence gets built.
Treating decay or gum concerns before cosmetic work is the reason your results hold. Veneers, bonding, and whitening are an investment in how your smile looks. Addressing what's underneath first is what keeps them looking the way they should.
What Happens at the Consultation?
The consultation starts the same way any dental appointment does: with an exam. Your dentist examines your teeth, gums, and bite to understand what's going on before recommending any treatment. You talk through what you'd like to change. Your dentist explains what the exam showed and which options fit your situation. The recommendations come from what your dentist sees. You decide where to go from there.
Our providers are general dentists trained in cosmetic procedures, so you have access to the full range of cosmetic treatments in a comprehensive dental setting. The dentist handling your cosmetic consultation is the same one who knows your dental history.
Is a Smile Makeover Right for You?
A smile makeover covers a lot of ground: teeth whitening, veneers, bonding, contouring, and crowns. But the common thread is the exam. Every plan starts with your dentist looking at your teeth, gums, and bite and recommending what makes sense for your situation.
ProHEALTH Dental offers cosmetic dentistry at various locations, including Bay Shore, Hoboken, and Yonkers.
Book an appointment online to discuss cosmetic dentistry at any of our locations, including our Huntington office. Our dentists will walk through your exam findings and explain which options fit your timeline.