What Is Smile Design?

Smile design is a custom plan to improve the overall appearance of your smile to be one with your unique facial features. Our smiles are unique to all of us, and by making some small changes, you can feel dramatically more confident. An experienced cosmetic dentist can transform your appearance through a smile design. A smile design is the process of planning out the treatment steps necessary to achieve your smile goal. 

Smile Design Treatment

Some of the dental procedures included with smile design are:

Porcelain Crowns - this dental crown will give the cosmetic appearance that most patients are looking for. It also gives the strength and stability of a functional tooth. If teeth grinding is a problem, your cosmetic dentist will use a specialized dental crown called a Bruxzir crown. When designed properly, a patient will see an immediate improvement in their bite as well as the aesthetic appearance of their skin including softening wrinkles.  

Porcelain Veneers - are the ideal procedure in smile design cases. This is used in addition to porcelain crowns to lengthen and restore the length of the front teeth to their original dimensions. Veneers are often called “instant orthodontics” in smile design, porcelain veneers give the dentist the ability to change the alignment of teeth. If the alignment issues are not too extreme this often works. Porcelain veneers are far less invasive than porcelain crowns. For teeth that do not require a full coverage crown, porcelain veneers are an ideal cosmetic dentistry tool to adequately lengthen and reshape, and enhance the color of your smile.

Orthodontics - may be limited or full orthodontics treatment. Comprehensive orthodontic treatment might be necessary to remove any bite issues that can cause added stress or trauma to the teeth before new restorations are placed.

Dental Bonding or Tooth Bonding - can be used to restore any teeth that have been damaged by tooth decay, staining or wear to the edges. Dental bonding is a cosmetically pleasing option that will look very natural and will match the rest of your smile.

Facial Asymmetry – the muscles of the face may be asymmetrical leading to an imbalanced look to the face. If not properly planned for, this can give you a deficient smile design. Botox is a new treatment option in smile design for many cosmetic dentists. Botox can restore facial symmetry by balancing the facial muscles. This can be done through an eyebrow lift, or depression of the brow can be enhanced with Botox or dermal fillers (like Juvederm).

Gummy Smile – this is when a person has a smile that shows too much gum. This usually results from the lip rising too high when smiling. By injecting Botox into the upper lip, it weakens the retractor muscles of the upper lip so that it won’t raise as high and your smile will appear more balanced.

Crown Lengthening - a dental surgical procedure that exposes more tooth structure so there is enough room to properly place a crown. This is often necessary in patients with severe teeth grinding issues. 

Gum Tissue and Bone Grafting and Recontouring - lost bone and gum tissue can often times be grafted to help regrow them. They can also be reshaped surgically to be healthier, easier to keep clean, and more visually appealing.

Teeth Whitening - many of our natural teeth are also dark and discolored. The color you want may require a dental whitening process, or simply a whiter color bonding restoration or a whiter colored porcelain restoration.

Smile Design Las Vegas Conclusion

Smile design is just a fancy term for planning out treatments in advance to achieve a patients smile goals. This takes effort and communication with your dental team, not only the dentist. A poor smile design can give poor results, but a well planned smile design can give you the smile you have always dreamed of and more!