10 Ways You’ll Benefit From a Smile Makeover

Going to the dentist is not limited to avoiding cavities and gum disease. There are a wide range of cosmetic procedures available that may not be necessary but can have a dramatic effect on your appearance, self-esteem, and so forth. Your options range from the very common and simple teeth whitening procedure to products like Invisalign that can actually straighten your teeth. You can have a single cosmetic procedure performed, but you can also opt for a smile makeover, which is a personalized plan involving various treatments in order to achieve your aesthetic goals. Smile makeovers can provide patients with many advantages that benefit them throughout their lives, including:

1. Enhanced Self-Esteem – The better you feel about your appearance, the bigger the boost to your self-esteem, and the more confidence you exude. Industry surveys reveal that many patients experience greatly enhanced confidence when their makeovers are complete and even as they unfold. Many people who had adjusted to hiding their smiles or chewing a certain way are amazed by just how much the makeover transforms their quality of life. You can enjoy similar results whether your teeth are discolored, chipped, unevenly sized, gapped, malformed, misaligned, or imperfect in another way.
2. Better First Impressions – As the old wisdom goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression, which means you want to make the best one you possibly can. A recent survey indicates that about 96 percent of Americans believe that an attractive smile is integral to both career and romantic success. Your smile is the first thing a stranger notices about you, and people tend to sense this on an intuitive level.
3. A Brighter and Whiter Smile – Everyone wants their teeth to be as white and bright as possible. This can be harder to achieve on your own as you get older due to natural aging and discoloration from the foods you eat and beverages you drink. But your dentist can help you achieve that white, natural look through teeth whitening, and when discoloration cannot be bleached away, options include veneers, resin fillings, crowns, and so on.
4. Streamlined Cosmetic Treatments – You can have cosmetic dental treatments performed one at a time, but a smile makeover helps you to maximize your budget as well as your time. It also helps to achieve better results because each treatment can be chosen and fine-tuned based on how it complements the others rather than adjusted in a sequential manner. Consider how it is best to match crowns and tooth-colored fillings to the rest of your teeth at their lightest so that your smile will always look amazing as you whiten it in the future.
5. Clearer Speech – Even minor oral imperfections can change how you speak, and even your voice changes as those issues become more pronounced. It may not be obvious, but subtle changes can create lisping and whistling noises that people will notice at some level. Your speech will not be as smooth and your diction less clear, and in some cases, this can progress to the point of a serious and noticeable speech impairment.
6. Better Bite and Easier Chewing – The focus of a smile makeover is often on the aesthetics, but it can optimize the function and form of your mouth as well. Missing and damaged teeth do affect your bite. Fibrous foods can become difficult and, in some cases, impossible to chew. By optimizing your bite, you make yourself less prone to tooth damage, bruxism, and other oral health issues that could arise from malocclusion.
7. Achieve Your Goals Fast – If there is some aspect of your smile that you do not like, then chances are you want it corrected fast. Every day it is not fixed is another day you have to deal with the insecurities and other issues. Smile makeovers can be carried out in a quick fashion and often at an accelerated pace depending on the patient’s need and goals, such as being ready for a wedding or other important event. Often, your dentist can focus on the most obvious cosmetic flaws and seek to get those corrected as soon as possible.
8. Reduced Stress – Did you know that smiling reduces stress? Even when you choose to smile rather than have it occur naturally, it makes a difference. This is according to multiple scientific studies, including a notable 2012 study in which it was found that forced smiling after a stressful event reduced heart rate. People who feel uncomfortable showing off their smiles tend to smile less, which means that they are not reducing their stress levels as much and have to go to additional lengths to benefit from basic stress management.
9. Increased Happiness – Along the same lines, smiling tends to foster and improve the emotional state of happiness. You have likely heard the notion that happiness is a choice rather than something that happens to you, and there is a great deal of scientific evidence that there is truth to this. People who smile more often tend to be happier and help to put people around them in better moods as well. A person who is embarrassed about their smile does not smile often and tends to hide it. Not only do they not get the happiness-boosting effect, but they may be encouraging sadness, loneliness, and other negative emotions.
10. Better Oral Health – A smile makeover helps to set a foundation for good oral health now and in the future. It achieves that on a physical basis but also in a mental and behavioral capacity. When you invest your money and your time into a perfect smile, you are motivated to maintain that smile with better oral hygiene and regular dental visits. Many people who have had smile makeovers tend to feel more engaged with their oral care. Not only are they more aware of the oral hygiene regimen, but they interact more with their dentists regarding oral care, oral care products, diet, future treatments, and so forth.

Benefit From Your Perfect Smile

Smile makeovers can provide many benefits not just to your appearance and confidence but oral health. You have read the benefits listed here, but it can also be very helpful to meet with a cosmetic dentist to discuss them within your personal context. Jeffrey D. Clark, DDS, is a highly skilled cosmetic dentist with more than 20 years of experience, and no matter what aesthetic issues you are dealing with, he can help you overcome them. Each makeover is personalized to the individual patient, accounts for his or her goals, and combines two or more treatments to achieve a dramatic outcome. Smile makeovers often involve teeth whitening, porcelain veneers, gum contouring, Invisalign clear aligners, and much more. We have trained professionals available to discuss any cosmetic procedures that interest you, so do not hesitate to call Scottsdale Cosmetic Dentistry Excellence today. You can reach us at 480 585 1853 to get that information as well as to schedule your smile makeover consultation with Dr. Clark.