With wedding season about to get into full flow, we're delighted to present this guest blog from the wonderful Montrose Smile Studio in Twickenham. Over to them...
When you are planning your wedding it's easy to get lost in a mountain of to-do lists, with so many things to do it easy to miss out some of the most obvious. When you are thinking about what you can do to enhance your smile for the camera it's easy to get bamboozled by lots of promises, dental jargon and new technology.
So how can you achieve your perfect smile and add this to your wedding planner checklist to ensure you can smile brightly for the camera on your special day?
Here are a few top tips, including a timescale, to ensure you smile with confidence in all of those amazing photographs.
First things first, here's your wedding planner perfect smile timescale:
As you can see, some treatments start at least one year in advance, so let's break the timescale down:
1 year to go until your big day
If you are thinking you might like straighter teeth using invisible braces then beginning this process at least a year in advance is advisable. There are ways to straighten teeth quicker but these often involve appliances which can be a little more visible than Invisalign.
Invisalign involves a series of clear aligners, the aligners are made from a completely clear and thin shell of plastic. You wear each aligner for two weeks and then replace it for a new one. Each aligner moves your teeth a small amount.
“Invisalign is the perfect way to straighten teeth with no one else knowing”, says Madin Khan a dentist in Twickenham.
8 months to go until your big day
If you have missing teeth and are concerned about how you will look in your wedding photographs then it is advised that you don't leave it too much longer to think about replacing them!
Many dentists recommend dental implants to replace missing teeth due to the fact that they are less destructive on surrounding teeth compared to dental bridges.
The actual dental implant procedure is very short but because the implant needs time to integrate into the bone of your jaw the healing process can take 3-6 months. When you add this to the planning and construction phases the whole process can take around 8 months.
Dental implants can be used to replace single or multiple teeth in both the front and back of your mouth.
6 months to go until your big day
We've already mentioned straightening crooked teeth with Invisalign however there are alternatives such as Six Month Smiles ceramic braces.
Ceramic braces are the classic train track braces but rather than being made from obvious metal they are made from ceramic which is tooth coloured. The wires also have a covering which makes them tooth coloured meaning the braces blend in with your teeth almost imperceptibly.
Because these braces only move teeth a short distance to straighten them cosmetically (rather than moving back teeth to realign your bite) they can move teeth quicker than conventional orthodontic systems.
3 months to go until your big day
We are now getting closer to your big day and if you decide to straighten crooked teeth with orthodontics then this is pretty much your final chance. The Inman aligner uses a revolutionary push and pull spring mechanism to straighten front teeth.
Because the Inman aligner only moves your front teeth by tipping and rotating (not moving them bodily) the system can move teeth very rapidly. It is however limited to the cosmetic front teeth only and can't move back teeth in this kind of timescale.
The Inman aligner, whilst being rapid, is a removable appliance which is more visible than either Six Month Smiles or Invisalign.
1 month to go until your big day
There's not much time left for many cosmetic dental treatments however you may find that many dentists can arrange to have dental veneers in about 1 month. Dental veneers are a thin, custom made and highly aesthetic and strong shell which fit over the front of your natural teeth.
Most often these thin shells will require a small amount of reduction on the surface of your tooth, the dental veneer is then bonded onto the surface of your tooth.
Veneers can be used to correct broken down teeth, extremely dark teeth and even make teeth look straighter.
2 weeks to go until your big day
The final cosmetic dental treatment available to you is teeth whitening. Home teeth whitening takes approximately 1 week with some dental practices offering professional in surgery whitening which can take a couple of hours.
Teeth whitening uses a specially formulated gel which releases a small amount of hydrogen peroxide. This active agent beaches your teeth by removing the micro staining which is picked up through normal daily activities.
The bleaching gel is held in contact with your teeth with a custom made and close-fitting bleaching tray. The tray will be designed to keep the gel away from your delicate gum area which is why you should never try bleaching your teeth at home!
The perfect smile summary
As you can see, there are many ways to help you improve your smile ready for your photographs on your big day, it's worth reminding you that it's important to start thinking about which type of dental treatment you might want in plenty of time. Particularly orthodontic treatments can take up to a year so you may wish to book your first appointment when you begin planning your wedding.