Perfect smile on your big day!

By Cathy Quiogue

Congratulations, you’re engaged! You and your fiancé have settled on the date for your big day. Suddenly, a myriad of details confront you—where to hold it, who will make your gown, who will you get to photograph the event, how many guests to invite, will you need a wedding coordinator? Knowing you need to get these things done early, you start making your calls. Did you forget anything?

Yes, you most certainly forgot to visit a dentist! But not just any dentist. If you want a perfect smile for your wedding day, you may need to go to a dentist who has an expertise in cosmetic dentistry like Dr. Mitsyrose Navales-Antolin of Navales Dental Clinic. She is licensed to practice both in Manila and in California and is a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD).

Problems that may be affecting your smile include a gummy smile, stained or discolored teeth, discolored fillings, crowns with discoloration, crowding, misaligned or crooked teeth, bad-looking dentures, grayish-looking teeth because of antibiotics, or missing teeth. Any of these is enough to lower your self-esteem on any day, but especially on a momentous occasion like your wedding day.

Dr. Navales-Antolin says for these toothy problems, the solutions range from a simple laser teeth whitening treatment to a more wide-ranging smile makeover—which she defines as “creating a smile that would really fit the patient.” She explains further, “It’s contouring your teeth in accordance to your lip contour and profile so that when you turn, your side view, front view and back view all come together.” There is no such thing as a smile makeover package because each set of treatment is unique to the individual; for example, some patients may need no gum work at all.

All of these can be handled by her team of specialists that include a periodontist, an orthodontist, an endodontist, and an implantologist.

When she first meets you, Dr. Navales-Antolin will look at your smile and assess what needs to be done. She gives an example. “When you come to me, I’ll look at your smile and see if you need some gum reconstruction because you have a gummy smile or your gums are not even. I have to refer you to my periodontist for some sculpting. If you need a root canal, I have another specialist for that.”

If you already have a beautiful smile and need only to enhance it further, you may opt for a laser whitening treatment. The advantage with the laser procedure over one that uses a purely tray system is that it can whiten the teeth from four to six shades lighter and even up to ten shades lighter than your original color. The other advantage is its immediate effect if you are in a rush. But the most optimal effect will come from a combination of laser treatment for its immediate and dramatic result, and a take-home whitening kit from the cosmetic dentist for its longer-lasting effect.

Normally, the laser whitening benefit can last for a minimum of one year although heavy coffee drinking can shorten its effect. Other intakes that can affect the color of your teeth are red wine, cola drinks, tea, and cigarette smoking.

“Cosmetic dentistry involves a lot of investment, both in time and money—but if you consider it as an investment in yourself, it becomes priceless.”

Don’t fret about perceived unsafe side effects of this procedure—it’s clinically safe and does not erode your teeth’s enamel. Your only concern might be some teeth sensitivity during and after treatment—which affects most people—but this normally lasts for only 24 to 48 hours. It’s best to avoid hot or cold food or drinks during this period.

Next to teeth whitening in popularity among her brides-to-be is teeth bonding, says Dr. Navales-Antolin, where a dental composite with the same color of your teeth is molded into place to fit a variety of purposes. It can be used as dental cavity filler; or it can replace metal, amalgam, or discolored fillings; it can repair a broken or chipped tooth; it can also close the gap between teeth or be used to reshape crooked teeth.

For a more extensive smile makeover that involves badly stained, badly damaged, misaligned or crooked teeth, there is the porcelain veneer that can transform ugly teeth into that much sought-after Hollywood smile. After permanently shaving your teeth, a wafer-thin porcelain ceramic material is cemented on top to give you instant pearly whites. Porcelain veneers can also correct crowded teeth in less time than wearing braces, which makes this shortcut procedure a kind of “instant orthodontics.”

However, this top-of-the-line treatment does not come cheap since this normally involves the whole range of teeth that are exposed when you smile. A good oral hygiene program coupled with your regular visits to your dentist can make your veneers last up to ten long years (or even more). Bonding may be a less expensive alternative but the drawbacks are that bonding materials are not as strong as porcelain and are more likely to stain. A shorter procedure than traditional orthodontic work, a long effectivity, plus the benefit of a dazzling Hollywood smile, make porcelain veneers a popular choice for those who can afford them.

Another revolutionary cosmetic dental treatment is the replacement of traditional bracket braces with Invisalign braces, a series of clear aligners or transparent plastic trays that slowly adjusts and aligns your crooked teeth. No dental work is necessary nor do you need to have your teeth shaved permanently. But its three biggest advantages may be their discreetness—because they’re practically invisible; their convenience—you can remove them when you eat, therefore it’s easier to clean your teeth after; and their shorter wearing time—only six months compared to two years with traditional braces. Again, the drawback is that this is even more expensive than porcelain veneers.

Dr. Navales-Antolin advises her brides to look forward and consider the length of the procedures they are interested in especially if it involves extensive smile makeovers— which may include treatment planning, referral to specialists, gum surgery and laboratory work, which takes months to finish. Porcelain veneer treatment lasts a month; teeth whitening, from two weeks to as short as 2 hours; bonding can also be done in just one visit. It’s always best to allot extra time for revisions, so the optimum time to go for consultations would be eight months before your wedding.

She narrates a case where a man who wa s about to be married this November needed root canal work to replace his old crowns. She also referred him to her gum specialist for gum sculpting. After four months, she is set to do the final work next week. He would’ve wanted to stay with the temporary crowns that she fitted him with while waiting for his gums to heal but she persuaded against that, explaining that temporary measures do not look good in pictures. Yes, it’s important to remind grooms that even they need to see their dentist, she smiles.

Are all these sacrifices worth it? Definitely, asserts Dr. Navales-Antolin. Not only do they boost your self-esteem tremendously, they also make you more photogenic. “I have a patient who’s very conscious of her teeth so she stops her smile. Areas of her gums were not nice so her teeth were somewhat sunken; so we increased the height of her gums and made them even. I told her she needs to practice smiling because she really has a nice smile. Now every time she’s driving she’s smiling,” she says with a laugh. Even at this provisional stage “When she sees her pictures now, she says she really looks different. A smile makeover enhances your facial expressions so you tend to look better in pictures.”

Lastly, if you are also considering a facial makeover like getting a nose-lift, it’s advisable to do that before you see a cosmetic dentist like Dr. Navales-Antolin so that she can harmonize her restorative work with your new look.

Cosmetic dentistry involves a lot of investment, both in time and money—but if you consider it as an investment in yourself, it becomes priceless.