Would You Like Nice Smile?

Lets be honest who wouldn’t like a nice radiant smile. Yet if someone said to you so what would you like to change about your smile to make you really happy,  it is often difficult to be precise. Most people start with the words well “whiter would be nice……”  but then often struggle to identify exactly what other changes they would like to make to their smile. Teeth whitening is a good place to start but only takes you so far if you are really determined to improve your smile.

When considering cosmetic dentistry assess your
smile from  several angles not just the front.
Getting the best out of a cosmetic dentistry  is all  about communication and the more you are able to tell your dentist about your goals, the more likely they are to be able to deliver a result that you will love.

Most good dentists will be happy to set aside time for a cosmetic dental consultation appointment  to discuss your aims for treatment and discuss how you might achieve them.  Here are a few tips that you might make it easier to prepare for the appointment.

1. take a photo of your smile from the front and from an angle of around 30 degrees to the left and right. If you find it difficult to conjure up a natural smile try saying the letter  EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. When we assess our own smile we tend to look at ourselves in the mirror, very few people stand directly in front of you when they are talking to you so your smile does not have to be perfectly symmetrical. the offset views are more likely to be a representation of what people see when they speak to you.

2.  look at the pictures on a  monitor or as a print out- we are used to seeing ourselves in a mirror and it has been shown that in time we filter the view that we have of ourselves. A photo is the reverse of how you look in a mirror so very often this view makes things more noticeable to you.

3. write down what you see that you like about your smile in each picture, this helps your dentist to understand what features of your smile need to be preserved and carried forwards

4. write down the things that seem to be out of place or incorrect to you, this helps us to understand the priorities as you see them. Sometimes it is simply not possible to have everything on our wish list so identifying the changes that are  most important to you is the key.

5. Do not ever pull your lips back with your fingers to take the photo or do any kind of cosmetic assessment, after all we don’t normally walk around pulling our lips back.  Remember smiles should look great when we are living life NOT when we are studying them in a mirror. Great cosmetic dentistry should be subtle and give you confidence rather than attract attention as is often seen in “celebrity smile makeovers”

If you try this let me know how you get on…..