Smile Makeovers In Time For Your Wedding Day

February is National Weddings Month! So if Cupid (or Santa) delivered an engagement ring this year and you’re planning a wedding in the near future, now is the time to think about the smile you’d like to be captured in your wedding photos. If you're the mother or father of the groom, an adoring bridesmaid or excited family member, you'll find what you need here to look your best in tme for the wedding celebration and countless wedding photos.

The average cost of an American wedding is a whopping $26,000. While couples revel in the process of planning and enjoying their wedding celebration, the truth is that long after the rice is swept away, what endures are wedding photos. Wedding day images are intended to forever capture your first moments as a married couple.

Understandably, you want to look your best for your wedding day and as you begin your new life together. Since the average American engagement lasts 12-18 months, we’ve put together a list of cosmetic dentistry options for improving the look of your smile whether you have one month, several months or 12-18 months between now and your big day.

Whiter Teeth To Make Over Your Smile in Two Hours up to One Month
Teeth whitening is one of the most popular ways to quickly and dramatically improve the look of your smile. Dentists like First Choice Dental offer a choice between in-office teeth whitening and take-home teeth whitening, both of which use professional strength active ingredients that work powerfully in a short amount of time.

In-office teeth whitening is painless and simple, and takes about just under 2 hours to complete. Our dentists start by carefully applying a protective gel to all soft tissues around your teeth. This prevents the powerful tooth whitening gel from penetrating your gums. Next our dentists apply concentrated tooth whitening gel and place a special UV lamp near your mouth to help penetrate the gel into your teeth. We repeat this process about 3 times, each involving 20 minutes, until we achieve the desired whitening results. You leave the office with a whiter, brighter smile in just two hours.

For those who prefer a less expensive teeth whitening procedure with results in 7-14 days, take-home teeth whitening is a great option. Following a free consultation with one of our dentists to ensure that you are a candidate for take-home teeth whitening, our dentists take an impression of your upper and lower teeth. From this, our dental lab creates custom teeth whitening trays that you will use at home. When your whitening trays are ready, our dental office will schedule you for a fitting of your trays and to pick up teeth whitening gel to use in conjunction with your teeth whitening trays. You will wear the teeth whitening trays at home for several hours each day until you achieve your desired teeth whiteness.

Both of these teeth whitening options provided by your Madison  dentist use ingredients that are more concentrated and stronger than over-the-counter teeth whitening products at your local drugstore. But for some individuals, over-the-counter teeth whitening products work just fine. It all depends upon your budget and how dramatically and quickly you want to whiten your smile.

Dramatic Smile Makeover in Less Than Three Months With Veneers or Crowns
Porcelain dental veneers from our Madison, WI cosmetic  dentists correct stained, chipped, or crooked teeth. By placing veneers, which are glass-like ceramic porcelain overlays, on the surface of teeth, our cosmetic  dentists can provide you with a bright, straight, and natural-looking smile. If you are considering porcelain dental veneers but would like more information about the process of placing porcelain veneers and the cost of treatment, please contact our office. From start to finish, once you and your dentist have determined that porcelain veneers are the right choice for you, the process can be completed in as little as three weeks.

A variation on the porcelain veneers option is a new, contact-lens-thin brand of veneers called Lumineers. The advantage of Lumineers is that little or no tooth reduction is required in order to prepare the tooth surface, and yet they look at natural as your real teeth. Whether or not Lumineers will help you achieve your desired result depends on your goals, as well as the shape of your teeth and their alignment. In your free cosmetic dentistry consultation your dentist can provide more detail about the pros and cons of traditional veneers versus Lumineers versus other cosmetic options,  for your personal situation.

Dr. Rob Bradley is Wisconsin’s only certified Lumineers dentist, and he provides complimentary consultations for anyone interested in learning more.

Dental Crowns Can Also Deliver a Better-Looking Smile in a Matter of Months
Sometimes dental crowns are necessary as part of restoring broken or fractured teeth, or for use on teeth that have recently undergone root canal therapy. In that case, the purpose of a dental crown is to stabilize and strengthen the existing tooth.

But dental crowns can also be very effective to achieve a better-looking smile,  and may be the preferred cosmetic dentistry option depending upon your goals and your unique oral health situation.

Most dental crowns require two visits to your dentist. During your first appointment, we’ll prepare your tooth and take impressions. Your dentist will give you a temporary crown that will remain on your tooth while our lab makes your permanent crown (which takes about two weeks). During the second visit, your dentist will place and fit the crown to make sure it looks and feels as natural and comfortable as your own tooth. [LINK to Christine’s story to learn more about cosmetic dental crowns]

The best way to know if veneers, Lumineers or cosmetic dental crowns will work best for your unique situation is to schedule a free cosmetic dentistry consultation. Once your dentist takes a look at your teeth and talks with you about what you want to achieve, he or she can make treatment recommendations that will work best for you.

It’s Never Too Late to Straighten Up Your Smile with Adult Braces
If your wedding day is a year or 18 months away, adult orthodontics may be an option for you to achieve the smile of your dreams in time for wedding day photos.

More than one third of our orthodontic patients are adults. Adult braces continues  to be a popular trend,  for those who never had this opportunity when they were younger, or who weren’t disciplined about wearing their retainers and now need to have orthodontic treatment as adults.

Depending upon your goals and your smile, you can choose from traditional braces or Invisalign, which are clear, removable aligners you can take out when you eat or for a special occasion.

Braces deliver more than cosmetic benefits. Straight, healthy teeth work better, wear longer and are easier to keep clean and healthy than crooked, overlapping teeth.

Your wedding day and the start of a new life with your spouse may be the perfect occasion to finally invest in the straight, beautiful, healthy smile you’ve always wanted. Learning about adult orthodontic options costs nothing at First Choice Dental Orthodontics since initial orthodontic exams and treatment recommendations are free. Your orthodontist can also provide estimated timelines about how long orthodontic treatment will take, so you can choose whether or not to begin treatment before your wedding day.

The First Step is A Free Cosmetic Dentistry Consultation
Whether your wedding celebration is one month, three months or more than a year away, your cosmetic any of our First Choice dentists can help recommend options that suit your unique situation.

If you want to be proud of your wedding day smile, now is the perfect time to learn how to achieve your desired goals. Schedule your complimentary cosmetic dentistry consultation today.