A smile makeover can be a great investment. You can experience many benefits. You can look more attractive, feel better about your appearance, enjoy better oral health, and even get the effect of a nonsurgical facelift. The results can look very attractive and natural, too. And the results can be very long-lasting–ten years and more–which helps to make it a great investment.
But to enjoy the benefits of a smile makeover, you have to do it right. And that means avoiding these six common mistakes people make when getting a smile makeover.
Not Choosing Your Dentist Carefully
Your dentist is the artist, architect, and chief craftsman of your smile makeover. Everything depends on them, and if you want to get great results from your smile makeover, you have to choose your dentist carefully. All dentists are reasonably skilled at providing basic dental care, but when it comes to a smile makeover, you need a dentist who has special skills.
You want to look at a dentist’s before and after gallery to see the quality of their work. You want to look at their training to make sure they have dedicated training in cosmetic dentistry and neuromuscular dentistry. If your dentist doesn’t have the proper skills and talent, you may not be happy with the fit or appearance of your results, or you might not like that they don’t last as long as they should.
If you want to get the best results from your smile makeover, choose your dentist carefully.
Choosing Cheap Materials
Hopefully, if you’ve chosen a good cosmetic dentist for your smile makeover, they’ll steer you away from cheap materials.
But not all dentists will. Some dentists want to make their smile makeovers seem more affordable by using cheap materials.
But don’t be fooled. A cheap smile makeover might seem like a bargain now, but it can cost you more in the long run. You may end up with an uncomfortable result that fails prematurely. Sometimes, you may even experience damage to your natural teeth that can be more expensive to repair in the future.
When you’re getting a smile makeover, make sure you choose quality materials that will look natural and last for a long time.
Not Treating Enough Teeth
Another way that some dentists and some patients try to make a smile makeover more affordable is by limiting the number of teeth that are being treated. We understand that you might want to limit the treatment to just the teeth that show most when you smile.
But if you do, you might be missing out on some benefits. First, you have to make sure you’re treating all the teeth that you regularly show. Just treating a few of them can limit the results you can get. We either have to match your neighboring teeth closely or we will have a result that stands out too much.
It might also be necessary to restore more teeth if we’re looking to get the effects of a nonsurgical facelift. We have to restore lost volume by building up teeth to support your facial tissues.
During your consultation and evaluations, your dentist will make recommendations about the optimal treatment plan and alternatives. Listen to their recommendations and make an informed choice based on your treatment goals, not just on price.
Not Replacing Old Restorations
If you have had one or more teeth treated in the past, you might be tempted to keep old dental crowns or porcelain veneers.
But it might be smarter to replace them. First of all, old restorations may not look as attractive as they once did (or maybe you were never very happy with the results). Secondly, they may be nearing the end of their life, which means they’ll have to be replaced soon, anyway. Finally, if they weren’t done right in the first place, they may be concealing problems like decay or other damage to a supporting tooth.
Although your new restorations can be matched to your old ones, it might not be worth it. It might be better to get a completely fresh, new smile.
Neglecting Your Bite
A smile makeover is focused mostly on improving the look of your smile, but if you want to get the best results, you should consider other factors. That includes your bite.
Your bite is how your teeth come together, what dentists often call occlusion. You may neglect your bite, either because your dentist doesn’t understand the science of the bite or because you opt for a treatment plan that doesn’t fix bite issues. But if you do, it could impact the function and longevity of your smile makeover. If your natural teeth were worn down because your bite is imbalanced, the same bite problems could put your restorations at risk.
Make sure that your cosmetic dentist is building you a healthy bite as well as a beautiful smile.
Not Taking Care of Their Smile
Once your cosmetic dentist designs and places all your restorations, their part in your smile makeover is largely over, but yours is just beginning. If you want your smile makeover results to last, you have to take proper care of your restorations.
The good news is that this is typically easy. Just brush, floss, and make your regular dental visits. Oh, and avoid habits that you should have been avoiding already because they can damage your natural teeth. Don’t smoke, use tobacco, chew things other than food, or use your teeth as tools.
And if your dentist gives you special care instructions, make sure you follow them closely. If you follow those guidelines, you’ll be happy with the longevity of your smile makeover results.
Are You Ready for Your Best Smile Makeover?
If you are ready to avoid these problems and get your smile makeover done right in the Detroit area, please call (248) 656-2020 today for an appointment with a cosmetic dentist at Rochester Advanced Dentistry.
