Smile Makeovers in Fort Collins: What's Actually Involved

Look up a smile makeover in Fort Collins and you'll find a lot of photos of finished teeth, but very little about how anyone got there. That's a problem if you're the one considering it, because the term describes a plan built around whatever bothers you about your teeth, and two people who ask for one can end up with completely different treatment.

If you've been putting off the question because you assume the answer is a full set of veneers, it may not be. Some patients need one or two treatments done in the right order, and others need considerably more. The only way to know is to start with what you'd change and work backward from there.

What a Smile Makeover Can Include

The term covers any combination of cosmetic and restorative work planned together. In our cosmetic dentistry practice, that usually means some mix of whitening, bonding, veneers, crowns and bridges, depending on what your teeth need.

Whitening lifts staining on natural teeth, and professional teeth whitening is often the first step because it sets the shade everything else has to match. Bonding repairs small chips and gaps with tooth-colored composite, usually in one visit. Porcelain veneers cover the front of a tooth to change its shape, length or color, while porcelain crowns rebuild a tooth that's too damaged for a veneer to do the job. If you're missing a tooth, a bridge fills that space so the gap doesn't undo the look of everything around it.

Not every plan uses all of these, and a good one shouldn't try to. If whitening and a little bonding would get you what you want, that's the plan.

How a Prosthodontist Plans the Case

The first conversation starts with you. We want to know what you notice when you look in the mirror, what you've always wanted to change, and what you'd leave alone. After that comes the clinical side, which covers the health of your teeth and gums, the condition of any older dental work, and how your upper and lower teeth come together when you bite.

That last part is what patients rarely think about. Veneers and crowns take force every time you chew, so if your bite is landing unevenly, new porcelain will take the damage. A plan that looks great on day one and chips in a year isn't much of a plan, which is why the bite gets looked at before anything gets designed. If you're curious whether you'd be a fit for porcelain, we covered that in what a Fort Collins prosthodontist looks for in a veneer candidate.

Prosthodontists spend three years after dental school training in exactly this kind of case, where several restorations have to work together and look like they belong to one mouth. We wrote more about why that matters in finding a cosmetic dentist in Fort Collins.

Why the Order of Treatment Matters

Sequencing is where a lot of makeovers go right or wrong. If you want your natural teeth whiter, that has to happen before any porcelain gets matched, because porcelain doesn't whiten along with the teeth around it. We explain how that plays out in teeth whitening with crowns, veneers or implants.

Any health problem comes first too. If you have decay, a failing filling or gum trouble, we'll treat that before cosmetic work goes on top of it, since there's no point putting new veneers on a foundation that needs repair. The cosmetic steps then follow in an order that lets each one set up the next.

How Long a Smile Makeover Takes

That depends entirely on what's in your plan. Whitening and bonding are often finished in one visit, while veneers and crowns typically take two visits over two to three weeks. A plan that combines several treatments takes longer, and we'll lay out the visits with you before anything starts so you're not guessing.

Our on-site lab helps here. Your veneers and crowns are made in the same building where you're treated, so the technician can see your teeth in person and we can adjust the shape or shade right away instead of sending the work back and forth to an outside lab. That helps most on a case with several restorations, because every one of them has to match the others.

What Affects the Cost of a Smile Makeover

Since no two plans contain the same treatment, there's no single price, and any flat number you see for a smile makeover won't tell you much about your own mouth. Your cost comes down to how many teeth are involved, which treatments you choose, what materials are used, and whether any health work has to happen first.

Most cosmetic work isn't covered by dental insurance, although restorative treatment such as a crown on a damaged tooth may be, so it's worth checking your plan. We'll give you a personal estimate at your consultation, and we offer financing options if you'd like to spread the cost out.

Is a Smile Makeover the Same as Full Mouth Reconstruction?

They overlap, but they start from different places. A smile makeover is usually something you choose because you want your teeth to look different. Full mouth reconstruction is usually something you need because your teeth are worn, broken or missing to the point that chewing and comfort are affected. If you're not sure which one describes you, that's an easy thing to sort out at a first visit.

Start With What You'd Change

You don't need to know which treatments you want before you come in. Tell us what bothers you, and we'll put together a plan with you that covers the treatments, the visits and the cost before anything starts. You can also look through our patient before and after photos first. Call us at 970-825-0000 or schedule a consultation.