Some people are blessed to be born with a beautiful smile, just as some people are fortunate to have a stunning body physique. But just like exercising is essential to maintain a physique as we age, a smile requires maintenance and periodic enhancements to maintain beauty.
When you see celebrities and actors in Hollywood, it is difficult to envision the hours of maintenance and subtle enhancements they have undergone to look and feel their best. In our practice, we are trusted by numerous of Boston’s public figures, celebrities, CEOs, top physicians/lawyers. I can assure you the smiles of the most successful, and beautiful people are often created by overcoming less than ideal genetics and even dental neglect earlier in their lives. You learn everyone is on a spectrum of growth and development in their lives. Although we are all at different points, everyone is eligible to have a dream smile when their priorities allow for it.
What is a Smile Makeover?
For a moment, I want you to think of a young couple purchasing their dream home. When they move in, it’s exactly what they hope it to be. It’s new. It’s beautiful. And as time goes on, wonderful memories are made—family holidays celebrated in the dining room, their kids learn to ride their bicycles in the driveway, and their fondness toward the home becomes ingrained.
After 20 years, the home, although charming, becomes worn. So what happens next? The family decides to invest in a significant home renovation. A smile makeover is a dental equivalent to a home renovation. A smile makeover is an investment to maintain or enhance the beauty of your smile.
A smile makeover is more of a blueprint than a treatment per se. Search for top-rated dentists in your area who are known for smile makeovers, full mouth reconstructions, and cosmetic dentistry. The dentist will consult with you, understand your goals, provide recommendations, and create a smile makeover treatment plan. Before you commit, ask questions and build rapport with the dentist. Cosmetic dentists are usually very passionate. They love when their patients are involved in their treatment!
Dental procedures of a smile makeover may include options such as porcelain veneers, crowns, bonding, reshaping teeth, whitening, dental implants, botox, and/or lip lifts. These are the same methods that celebrities use to look younger and look stunning on the stage of the Academy Awards.
Let’s discuss some of the procedures most commonly used in our Boston Smile Makeovers also known as a Hollywood Smile Makeover.
PORCELAIN VENEERS & LUMINEERS
When you see a celebrity that has a stunning smile, there’s a high likelihood porcelain veneers are what you are drawn to. Dental veneers are a common component of smile makeovers because of their versatility and the impact they can have on redefining the beauty of the face. Veneers and Lumineers are used to correct chipped, stained, unlevel, misaligned, or misshapen teeth. The results can be designed to create a minor enhancement of the smile or it can be designed to completely revolutionize the smile.
So what are porcelain veneers or lumineers? To be technical, veneers are custom-designed porcelain that are bonded to the teeth essentially becoming the new outer surface of the teeth. The veneers are stain-resistant, permanent, and can be used to safely mask even severe imperfections.
The front teeth, from premolar to premolar, are typically the best candidates for veneers. The veneers are designed using physical and digital models of the mouth and face to enhance to ideal and natural aesthetics. It is important to understand oral hygiene routine of daily brushing and flossing remains the same, but the patient must be committed to their oral hygiene for long term success of the smile makeover. Porcelain veneers have a typical lifetime of 10-20 years, after which time they may need to be replaced.
DENTAL IMPLANTS
The beauty of the smile is obviously greatly influenced by the teeth. When teeth are missing, it has negative effects on aesthetics. The smile cosmetics are affected not only by the spacing. Think of teeth as fence post which provide balance to the entire jaw. If a fence is missing several fence posts the remaining fence posts begin to strain and wear excessively from the added stress. The same happens to the teeth. Missing teeth increase risks of the other teeth shifting, chipping, and wearing.
Dentists use dental implants in the smile makeover process to replace missing teeth. A dental implant begins with a titanium post which is surgically placed into the bone of the mouth. The implant integrates with the jaw in about 3-4 months and closely mimics the anatomy of the root of a tooth. Once a dental implant is placed, it opens up a world of options to restore teeth. Dental implants can be used to replace single teeth, multiple teeth by implant bridges, or entire arches by implant full mouth reconstructions, all-on-four reconstructions, or implant-retained dentures.
Dental implants are the ideal option to restore a lost tooth because the dental implants feel, look, and function most closely to natural teeth.
LIP LIFTS
As we all age, things tend to move downward. Think of how the neck begins to sag, and or the eyelids droop with age. Both can be improved either with a facelift or a blepharoplasty. The same type of aging happens with a smile.
With age, there is a breakdown of collagen and skin elasticity. The lips appear thinner, wrinkled, and move lower on the face. The skin between the nose and upper lip elongates, and patients begin to show less of their upper teeth and more of their lower teeth. There is a highly specialized cosmetic dental procedure that can correct lips that have dropped with age known as a lip lift. A lip lift is a surgical procedure that shortens the area between the nose and the top part of your upper lip to give you a fuller, more youthful, and attractive smile.
A lip lift is a minimally invasive procedure that heals with no scaring and returns the upper lip to a more youthful position. The lips appear fuller and allow your ideal smile proportions to take center stage when you speak and smile. Combining a lip lift with other cosmetic dental treatments of a smile makeover will give you a comprehensive makeover that is within the ideal context of the harmony of the facial features.
IN-OFFICE TEETH WHITENING
Teeth whitening is, by far, the most commonly requested cosmetic dental treatment. One of the top in-office whitening systems is called Zoom Laser Teeth Whitening. The procedure takes about an hour. It is safe, and the results are immediate. A more youthful and improved sparkle of your smile will be revealed immediately after the procedure.
In-office whitening can whiten natural teeth in the range of 6-10 shades improvement. Darkly stained teeth see the most dramatic improvement, while patients with teeth that are already a light shade will see modest improvement. It is important to note that dental porcelain will not change color, so a smile makeover plan is typically designed to replace aged dental restorations and place new dental restorations so that the entire smile appears seamlessly one identical shade.
Boston Smile Makeover: Putting it All Together
As we all go through life, we reach critical phases, when others are our priority before ourselves. We sacrifice for our children, our career, our parents, etc. These are all wonderful things, but there is a time when you deserve to give back to yourself. A smile makeover can be a wonderful turning point in life. Contact a top-rated smile makeover dentist in Boston, MA.
Together you will build rapport, gather goals, and discuss potential treatments available. You will develop a clear understanding of how porcelain veneers, ceramic crowns, implants, or other dental treatments could be utilized to achieve your goals. The combination of procedures will restore worn teeth, reduce jaw pain, improve TMJ symptoms, and restore your confidence to be the best version of yourself.
Aesthetic Smile Reconstruction is known as a Dentist of the Stars due to an exceptional patient experience and renowned smile makeover results. The practice caters to a large population of prominent figures, professionals, and celebrities who are most discerning of their smile cosmetics. Led by Dr. Charles Sutera, the practice focuses on providing the highest level of smile makeover results possible due to industry leading expertise in facial aesthetics, TMJ, and sedation dentistry.
