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Full Mouth Reconstruction vs. Smile Makeover

A beautiful smile is important, but many people mistakenly believe its only for vanity purposes. A beautiful smile is about confidence. A person with lovely teeth never hesitates to smile when speaking to others, and they tend to make a better first impression than those who are hesitant to smile due to the embarrassment they feel about their teeth. If you have dental issues, problems with your teeth, and your confidence suffers as a result, it’s time for you to focus on what you can to do positively change your life. Does that include a full mouth reconstruction or a smile makeover?

Are These Procedures the Same?

There are differences, and there are similarities between these two procedures, and your dentist can help you understand the pros, cons, and options of both. Your personal health and dental history ultimately determine which procedure might work best for you, but you should educate yourself on both to make an informed decision when faced with this choice.

Both procedures involve spending ample time with your dentist. Neither can be done over the course of one appointment, so you must prepare yourself to spend some serious time in our offices no matter which option works for you. Both procedures require a full dental exam, and both are followed by highly personalized treatment plans designed to meet your specific needs.

What’s a Smile Makeover?

A smile makeover has a very distinct impression. It does sound like it’s only for vanity purposes, but it’s not. It’s geared more specifically to the aesthetic appearance of your mouth, but it’s also designed to help you build confidence and change your smile completely. This is a procedure for those who want to improve their smile and have fewer actual health problems.

  • Teeth whitening
  • Chip repair
  • Gap repair
  • Damaged tooth repair
  • A combination of all or some of the above

Most patients who choose this option suffer from aesthetic dental issues. They don’t usually need more advanced work for health problems. They simply have teeth they want fixed because they’re imperfect. It’s designed to help you feel more confident and attractive.

What’s a Full-Mouth Reconstruction?

The purpose of this is to do all that a smile makeover does if you need your teeth whitened or you want your gaps closed, or anything else. However, it’s also designed for those patients who do have more serious dental issues. For example, a person who qualifies for a full-mouth reconstruction has fundamental issues with their teeth.

  • Missing teeth
  • Oral health issues
  • Broken teeth
  • Jaw alignment issues

These are some of the most common problems people who choose full-mouth reconstruction suffer from. The purpose of this procedure is to fix the problems in a person’s mouth first. The foundational issues are always more important than the aesthetic issues, but that’s the second part of this procedure. Essentially, this procedure is more detailed, more involved, more time-consuming, but it also has the same-end game as the smile makeover.

Which is the best option?

Simply put, you and your dentist need to sit down and speak to one another about this. If you have foundational issues in your mouth, your dentist is going to tell you that a smile makeover is not enough to help you with your problems. You must consider the pros and cons, but you must also consider you might need more than just aesthetic repair.

The best thing you can do is tell your dentist – honestly – what’s bothering you about your smile. You can discuss what you want versus what you need. You can come up with a plan together, work on it with one another, and you can work together to figure out what it is you need. Your procedure is going to be very personal. The only way to know precisely what it will entail for you is to speak to your dentist. You cannot come up with a plan without a visit to determine exactly what your mouth needs. Remember, your mouth is different than the mouths of others. No two people need the same thing done.