The 4 Day Smile Makeover
It is said the smile is the gateway to the soul, and with the exposure from the show "extreme makeover" people are becoming aware of what is possible. Your smile is the centerpiece of our personality and appearance. How many times have you been attracted to someone who "lights up the room with their smile", making them appear warm and approachable an well as positive and fun. They may not be beautiful or handsome as we see in the media, but they have that positive impact which attracts us to them. On the other hand we may meet a classically beautiful or handsome person, but if they are stone faced we may not trust them nor want to be around them as they appear shut down, judgmental, intimidating and cold. This applies to your business career , social activities and in relationships. A resent national survey by a leading online marketing research company found that ninety-four percent of those polled said they are more likely to notice someone smile when they meet someone for the first time than someone's eyes, height or figure. The same survey found that teeth are the #1 facial feature they would change, and 84 percent think an attractive smile is important for meeting your mate. An older study found that attractive people make 20 percent higher incomes than unattractive people.
If we are ashamed of something we try to hide it, like a bald head with a tope , or a poor complexion with heavy make-up. Unfortunately when we hide our smile it effects our non-verbal communication. We appear unapproachable, distant and non-social. Often the reason for our cold appearance is that we are ashamed of our smile. Subconsciously we have learned to not smile, control the outward display of our emotions. Then when we do smile it is often a very constricted awkward smile which gives the message we are holding back, that we have something to hide. Our lip movement is controlled by reflex patterns we have learned over the years. This is illustrated when Patient comes in for a cosmetic consult for smile enhancements. I like to take a digital image of their smile so I can image it on the computer and show them what they could look like after they have shared with me what changes they would like. The problem is often they either do not know how to smile normally or it is so constricted they hardly show any teeth. For these patients computer imaging does not do justice to the impact a smile makeover would make as we are only changing the teeth, which is hidden by the lips. For these people we do a “mock up “ in their month. This means we make temporary teeth over theirs in their month much as is done in Hollywood for actors needing temporary changes for a movie. Now they can see the impact a new smile would make on their appearance by comparing before and after pictures we take for them and by looking in the mirror. The fascinating thing is the transformation of the way they smile after the "mock-up" is place. Now their smile often changes, the brain releases the constricted smile and for the first time we can see the boarders of their smile. This will show the patient the real impact of a smile makeover and more importantly give the dentist the true smile position of the lips. This is a critical diagnostic step for a cosmetic dentist as the lips are the boarders or frame of the picture, and the gum is like the matting of the picture and the teeth the subject. The subject must be centered in the frame and the matting must even and symmetrical if it is used. With a smile makeover the cosmetic dentist must know if the gum will ever show in the most extreme facial expressions and jesters . If it does the gum contours are to be even, symmetrical and the right amount showing. Once the range of lip mobility is determined and the gum position evaluated the teeth can be centered in the smile. For some patients the cosmetic “mock up” of a new smile in their month is an invaluable tool to determining the ideal position of the gums and teeth within the boarder of the lips.
We ask our patients to bring in photos of models from magazines who's smile they like and to look through our extensive photo smile library to identify what they find pleasing. With this information the dentist can do a final wax-up of the new smile on the patients models, so that at the time of teeth preparation on day one of the 4 day smile makeover the patient leaves the office with temporaries which look and feel like the final new smile. The next day the patient returns after have worn the new smile for a day and had a chance to evaluate the new smile with feedback from friends or loved one. This allows the patient to have a trial run or test drive of their new smile. This appointment is called the "Esthetic Verification of Temporaries", where the patient, myself and our ceramist meet to see if we need to make any changes with feedback from the patient. It is so important for the ceramist to be a part of this process to personally know the patients wants and needs. This is high skill hand crafted art work similar to a portrait painting. Photographs models and indices of the temporaries are taken as an architectural model for our ceramicist to copy in the final porcelain restorations. Then on day 4 the temporaries are removed and new porcelain restorations are bonded in place. The patients new smile is complete. This process reduces the time patients are in temporaries from 2-3 weeks to 4 days. The result is the patient does not have to worry as much about broken temporaries, eating a soft diet while in temporaries and the gums are healthier at the bonding appointment on day 4, resulting is an easier bonding process. The 4 day makeover is the merging of today's immediate gratification "instant braces", and timeless personal handcrafted artistry. It requires a team approach with a cosmetic dentist and ceramist on site working closely together.
Traveling from a distance? The 4-day smile makeover is perfect for you. At the Aesthetic Dentistry Centre for example, patient's fly into Dallas DFW or Love Field and they are picked up in a limousine for the 30 minute ride to our office and then we put them up in a hotel of their selection near our office. Our staff makes all the arrangements. So whether it's the Hollywood-style perfection like the models on the cover of Vogue or Glamour, or it's simply the confidence coming from having a brighter, whiter more attractive smile the 4-day smile makeover makes it possible no matter where you live.
About the author :
Dr. Sowell is a general dentist who is one of 230 accredited members of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, which recognizes excellence in the art and science of cosmetic dentistry. The AACD is the largest organization in the world devoted to esthetic dentistry with over 5,000 members. Dr. Sowell is a Master of the Academy of General Dentistry, which represents advanced training in the 16 areas of dentistry. He lectures and writes on cosmetic dentistry who blends form and function in all his work at the Aesthetic Dentistry Centre in Plano, Texas. For more information about his practice go to www.adcplano.com or call 972-464-2660.
