I was having lunch recently with a good friend who is also a well-known wedding planner, and she was talking about one of the weddings she was planning. She said she would love to see her bride and groom have their teeth-whitened prior to the wedding. The conversation got me thinking about the smile menu modern cosmetic dentistry can offer today’s bride—from simple whitening, to filling small imperfections with cosmetic bonding, to straightening, to a complete smile makeover with ultra-thin porcelain veneers. Some of these procedures can be accomplished a few weeks ahead of the wedding, but some take much longer. As soon as you decide on your wedding date, you should consider setting up a consultation with a cosmetic dentist, in order to allow plenty of time to plan and begin whatever treatment you require.

On their wedding day, the couple’s true feelings are captured on film and video forever. On this perfect day, when their smiles will communicate so many emotions and will stay in friends’ and family’s memories and photographs for years to come, they should be able to smile with confidence.

Whitening

Even if you think you have beautiful teeth, whitening can give you brighter smile for your big day. It is the most cost-effective procedure that can “renew” a tired-looking smile by removing stains from coffee, tea, smoking, or certain foods.

For the whitening procedure to be most effective, the teeth must first be thoroughly cleaned. After the cleaning, a special whitening gel is applied to the teeth. The gels come in various strengths and brands. One type can be applied to the teeth in the dentist’s office, then activated by high-intensity light. The SmilePlus office uses safe “plasma arc” Sapphire light, and the entire procedure can be finished in an hour, giving immediate results.

Another method is for the whitening gel to be placed in trays custom-fabricated from the impressions of your teeth. The trays are worn for anywhere from twenty minutes to overnight, depend on the dentist’s instructions, for seven to ten days.

If the whitening is to be done as in-office treatment, it should be done at least three to four weeks prior to the wedding day, to allow time for at-home touch-ups to achieve the shade of whiteness you are looking for. Doing it this far in advance of the wedding allows for the occasional sensitivity that can affect your teeth and gums, and will give you a day or two for the symptoms to go away, or the rare situation depicted in “Friends,” when Ross walked out of the office with shockingly fluorescent white teeth. Advance planning will allow for any necessary adjustments before the big day.

Bonding

The next most cost-effective and simple treatment is bonding. If you have one or two small imperfections in your smile, bonding might be all you need. It takes only a short time and can often be completed in one office visit. You’ll be surprised at how inexpensive and effective this can be for small areas, even though it will probably have to be redone from time to time

Straightening

Teeth-straightening can make a big difference in your smile and can take anywhere from a few months to more than a year. It can be done easily with Invisalign treatment, using a series of transparent, removable aligners that are custom fabricated for the individual patient and can straighten teeth without the use of metal braces, wires, or brackets.

Veneers

If you are someone whose teeth are chipped, discolored, damaged, or malformed, then effective and permanent smile-enhancement can be achieved through the use of veneers. A porcelain veneer is very thin (approximately one to two millimeters), and it is a solid covering of porcelain for the entire tooth.

Cosmetic dentistry has come a long way in the past decade. If the bride and groom take the time to evaluate their smiles and consult a cosmetic dentist in the weeks before big day, then, when they’re in the spotlight, they will be free to concentrate on each other and on their family and friends.

We at SmilePlus offer free cosmetic consultation for bride and groom to be. We offer wide variety of cosmetic procedures and will work with you and your goals to enhance your smile for the big day. Please call us at 510-796-1656 for your appointment.