Is smile design a treatment?

No, it is the study that precedes treatment. It is charged separately, and it exists to settle the shape before anything is prepared.

How many teeth are involved?

Usually eight to ten, meaning the zone that shows when you smile. That visible zone is what the quote is built on, not the total number of teeth.

Will the result look natural?

That depends on the choices made at the study stage: the shade chosen, the length of the incisors, and how much symmetry is imposed. Those choices are discussed beforehand, which is exactly why the stage exists.

Smile Design

Teeth before an aesthetic ceramic restoration

Deciding before anything is prepared

A smile study, before any treatment.

Smile design is a study stage, not a treatment. It settles, before anything is touched, the shape, length and position of the visible teeth, and how they sit against the lips and the face.

The point is straightforward: remaking eight teeth without having decided their shape in advance means discovering the result at the end, when it can no longer be changed. The smile study is charged separately from the treatment that follows it.

What the study looks at

The whole face, not the teeth alone.

The smile line against the lower lip, how much gum shows, the midline against the nose, the proportion between central and lateral incisors, and shade in relation to complexion and age.

A perfectly symmetrical, perfectly white smile is noticed immediately, and rarely for the right reason. A slight asymmetry left in place is often what makes a result read as natural.

What carries the plan out

Veneers, crowns, gums, orthodontics — or several.

The design sets the target; the treatments are only the means. Depending on the case that is veneers, crowns, gum recontouring, alignment first, or several of those in an order that matters.

One point comes up often: where teeth are badly positioned, aligning them first allows thinner veneers afterwards, so less preparation. It takes longer and it keeps more tooth.

Learn more about veneers

Smile Design — Frequently Asked Questions

Is smile design a treatment?: No, it is the study that precedes treatment. It is charged separately, and it exists to settle the shape before anything is prepared.
How many teeth are involved?: Usually eight to ten, meaning the zone that shows when you smile. That visible zone is what the quote is built on, not the total number of teeth.
Will the result look natural?: That depends on the choices made at the study stage: the shade chosen, the length of the incisors, and how much symmetry is imposed. Those choices are discussed beforehand, which is exactly why the stage exists.