If you have spent even a bit of time scrolling on social media, there is no doubt that you must have noticed the huge popularity of pearly white and perfectly gleaming smiles. As soon as you start exploring how you can achieve one of those perfect smiles for yourself, you are bound to run into two terms which appear to be synonymous – veneers and smile makeovers.
It makes things rather confusing for the patients who may come to their dentist’s chair with the intention of having a smile makeover and end up with getting one type of porcelain treatment. Also, there are many patients who would come to have their veneers but what they need is something entirely different – a whole structure change.
So, if you have been wondering what the difference between smile makeover and veneers really is, we are here to help you clear the air.
The Standalone Solution: What Are Porcelain Veneers?
In order to fully comprehend what it is all about, it is important to look into the means available for a dentist. First of all, a porcelain veneer is a particular physical product employed in cosmetology of teeth. In other words, it is a microscopic shell of premium quality ceramics which is affixed to the frontal side of your tooth.
If you have a fractured front tooth, deep staining that does not disappear when being whitened, or gaps between your incisors, a dentist will employ such ceramic shells in order to totally cover up these problems. Porcelain veneers will create an instant transformation in terms of shape, dimensions, and color of your teeth.
But still, it is just one of the possible treatment options. No doubt that they are extremely effective and versatile but they cannot solve every dental problem. If you have serious bite misalignment problems, lack of teeth, or very uneven gums, it is impossible to cover up all these flaws with porcelain.
What is a Smile Makeover?
If the veneer is one tool, then a smile makeover is the entire toolkit.
When trying to define what a smile makeover is, you should forget about the concept of one item. This procedure does not include any item purchased from the menu; it is a complex personalized plan. It involves a number of steps and addresses several aesthetic and structural problems in your mouth at once or in sequence.
When choosing this path, your dentist takes on the position of an architect who performs a smile design treatment analysis. It means that the doctor does not only check your teeth. Instead, he or she examines your facial symmetry, skin color, lip outline when speaking, and visible gum tissues while smiling naturally. The dentist creates a unique combination of treatments based on all these individual features.
The Core Difference: Smile Makeover vs Veneers
It can be easily understood using the example of the living room renovation.
If you need to update your living room, getting porcelain restorations would mean purchasing a beautifully designed sofa. It makes a huge impact on the room appearance, which will become the centerpiece of it. For some people, whose rooms are in very good condition, this sofa is enough to get the desired effect.
However, a smile makeover procedure would resemble hiring an interior designer to do the complete renovation of the whole room. This person may think about purchasing the sofa for you, but there is a need to paint the walls, change the lighting and even repair the floorboards before the sofa fits into the room design.
Almost always when undergoing smile makeover procedure, patients get their veneers along with it. They are usually the stars of the show but surrounded by other treatment options, which create a good base for the mouth to look amazing.
What Else Goes Into a Comprehensive Treatment Plan?
If porcelain shells are just one piece of the puzzle, what are the other procedures that your dentist might recommend during your aesthetic journey? Depending on your unique needs, your personalized plan might incorporate several of the following:
1. Teeth Whitening
If your teeth are perfectly straight and beautifully shaped but simply yellowed from years of coffee and tea, you might not need porcelain covers at all. Professional teeth whitening is often the very first step in a makeover. Even if you are getting porcelain restorations on your top teeth to fix chips, your dentist will likely recommend whitening your bottom teeth so they match the brilliant new shade of your upper arch flawlessly.
2. Gum Contouring
Have you ever seen a smile where the teeth look unusually short, boxy, or square? Often, the teeth are actually a completely normal size, but they are hidden underneath an overgrowth of gum tissue. This is commonly known as a "gummy smile." Before placing any porcelain on the teeth, a cosmetic dentist might use a specialized, painless laser to gently reshape and lift the gum line. This gum contouring process reveals more of the natural tooth crown, creating an elongated, elegant foundation.
3. Orthodontics
Sometimes, teeth are simply too crowded or severely misaligned for a cosmetic dentist to cover them up safely. If a tooth is drastically rotated, placing a porcelain shell over it might require grinding away an unsafe amount of your natural enamel. In these cases, modern orthodontics—like clear aligners—are used as a mandatory preliminary step. By moving the teeth into a better position over a few months, the dentist creates an ideal, healthy setup for the final cosmetic restorations.
4. Dental Bonding
For patients who have very minor imperfections or are working with a tighter timeline and budget, dental bonding is a fantastic alternative or addition to porcelain. This involves applying a tooth-colored composite resin to the edges of the teeth to quickly fill in small chips or close tiny gaps. It can easily be combined with whitening and contouring for a stunning overall result without the permanence of porcelain.
5. Restorative Work (Implants and Crowns)
A truly beautiful smile must also be a healthy and highly functional one. If you are missing a tooth in the back of your mouth, or if you have a tooth severely damaged by deep decay, cosmetic treatments must be paired with restorative solutions. Dental implants or ceramic crowns are seamlessly integrated into the aesthetic plan so your smile works perfectly when you chew, not just when you pose for photographs.
Navigating the Investment: Full Mouth Smile Makeover Cost
Due to the fact that everyone’s mouth is unique, getting the exact total cost of the full mouth smile makeover procedure is not possible without a personal visit and consultation.
Depending on whether your specific treatment will include professional teeth whitening and some tooth bonding to repair your chipped front tooth or require you to wear aligners for several months along with the laser gum sculpting and eight porcelain crowns for your upper arch, the cost of your treatment will be different accordingly.
The cost of all procedures will be clearly stated in the list provided to you by your dentist during your first visit and consultation. Some people decide to get the treatment done gradually over several months or even a year in order to save money.
Designing Your Future at The Dental Roots
Here at The Dental Roots, we strongly believe that dentistry in its top form is an art form. We don’t just glue some porcelain on your teeth and then ship you off. We take a holistic approach to both the health and the aesthetics of your mouth to give you a natural-looking result, as if your perfect genetics just happened to manifest itself within you.
Regardless of whether you just need a couple of restorations to mask those hard-to-get-rid-of stains or you need a comprehensive dental restoration plan to build yourself back up, we are right here to help you out. And using our state-of-the-art digital imaging technology allows you to preview your future results even before the process begins.
Don’t be hiding your teeth in all of your family pictures and headshots. Your smile deserves you.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Dental Roots Editorial Team
Written by our panel of specialist dentists & patient educators
