Smile Makeover in Beverly Hills CA
Medically reviewed by Dr. Kayla Lebeau, DDS
A smile makeover is a plan, not a procedure
A smile makeover combines several treatments into one sequence with a single endpoint, usually some mix of whitening, veneers, bonding, crowns and alignment.
What separates a good one from an obvious one is that the plan starts with your face rather than with a catalog of treatments. How much tooth shows when you talk. Where your lip sits when you smile. Whether the midline of your teeth matches the midline of your face. Get those right and nobody can tell you have had anything done.
- Usually takes2 to 6 months
- VisitsVaries by plan
- Preview firstYes, before anything permanent
- ReversibleDepends on the treatments chosen
This is the right conversation if
- You do not like your smile but cannot name the single thing that is wrong
- You have had piecemeal work done and it no longer matches
- Color, shape and alignment all need attention, not just one of them
- You have an event or a milestone with months rather than weeks to plan
- You want the result to look like your teeth, on a good day
How the plan is built
- A long first appointmentPhotographs, a scan, and a proper conversation about what bothers you. We look at the health of the teeth and gums first, because cosmetic work built on untreated disease does not last.
- The designWe map the proportions to your face and show you where it is going before anything is touched. You approve the shape and shade at this stage.
- Health firstAny decay, gum treatment or bite problems are dealt with before cosmetic work begins. This is the step people are tempted to skip and the one that decides whether the result lasts.
- A trial you can wearWhere the plan involves veneers or crowns, you live with temporaries in the agreed shape. Eat with them, talk with them, photograph them. Changes happen here.
- The final workMade to the design already proven in your mouth, then fitted and adjusted.
- Protecting itA night guard if you grind, a maintenance schedule, and whitening top-ups for the natural teeth alongside any restorations.
Makeover, or reconstruction?
These get confused constantly and the difference decides the whole plan.
A smile makeover is elective. Your teeth work; you want them to look better. It concentrates on the teeth that show.
A full mouth reconstruction is driven by function. Teeth are failing, worn down, or the bite has collapsed. Appearance improves, but that is a consequence of rebuilding the mouth, not the reason for it.
If you are not sure which one you need, that is genuinely what the first appointment is for, and it is the most useful hour you will spend on this.
What it costs
There is no single price, because no two plans contain the same treatments. What you will get is an itemized plan in writing, split into phases, with the cost of each phase before anything begins, so you can stage it over time if you would rather.
Insurance generally does not cover work done purely for appearance, but a makeover often contains elements insurers do treat as necessary. We will help you separate the two.
Will it look fake?
Only if it is designed that way. Teeth that are too white, too uniform and too long for the face are the giveaway. We design to your proportions and you approve a preview before anything permanent is made.
Do I have to do everything at once?
No. Most plans are staged, and the sequence is built so each phase stands on its own. What matters is following the order, since each step depends on the one before.
How long will it take?
Anywhere from a couple of months to six, depending on whether implants or gum treatment are involved and how much healing time the plan needs.
Can I see what it will look like first?
Yes. A digital design first, then wearable temporaries where the plan involves veneers or crowns.
What if I do not like the temporaries?
Then we change them. That is exactly what they are for. Nothing permanent is made until the shape is right.
Start with the design, not the drill
- (310) 860-6969Someone here answers.
- Request a visitWe will call to confirm.
- Pick a time onlineChoose your own slot.
What it can correct
- Color that no longer responds to whitening, including gray staining and single dark teeth after old trauma
- Worn or chipped edges, which shorten teeth and are one of the strongest visual signals of age
- Crowding and gaps, either by moving teeth with Invisalign or by masking them with veneers
- Uneven lengths and an irregular edge line
- A gum line that shows too much, with contouring where the anatomy allows it
- Missing teeth, with implants or a bridge
What it cannot fix by itself: a significant skeletal discrepancy, jaw joint pain, or untreated gum disease. Those come first, and if that changes the plan we will tell you at the consultation.
The sequence, and why order matters
Doing these in the wrong order wastes money, and it is the commonest mistake we see in work done elsewhere.
- Health first. Decay, gum disease and failing fillings. Porcelain bonded to an unhealthy tooth fails early.
- Position next. Aligning teeth first often means fewer veneers, or none, and veneers made to a crooked position have to be thicker, which means removing more enamel.
- Gum architecture, then several weeks for the tissue to settle at its final level.
- Whitening, because natural teeth can be lightened and porcelain cannot. Whiten first and match the porcelain to the result.
- Restorations last. Veneers, crowns and implant crowns, made to a mouth that has stopped changing.
Whitening after veneers is the classic error: the natural teeth lighten and the porcelain does not, leaving a mismatch that can only be fixed by remaking the porcelain.
Seeing it before you commit
You should never find out what your new smile looks like at the fitting appointment. There are three stages of preview, and each is a point where you can change your mind at no cost.
Photographs and a digital design, showing the proposed shape and proportion on your own face rather than a model.
A wax-up. The design built physically on a model of your teeth, so it can be assessed in three dimensions rather than on a screen.
A trial smile. The wax-up is transferred into temporary material directly onto your teeth, without any preparation. You look in a mirror, go outside, show someone, and tell us what you want changed. Some patients wear temporaries for a fortnight before approving anything.
Only after you have approved that are the final restorations made. If a practice is not offering you a trial before irreversible preparation, ask why.
Foundation first, then the smile
This transformation started with Invisalign to create proper spacing and a healthy bite. Only once the teeth were aligned was the cosmetic work done. Doing it in that order meant less porcelain and less tooth removed.