Changing how your teeth look — with honest advice about what each option will and will not achieve.
Cosmetic dentistry covers anything done primarily for appearance rather than function. The right treatment depends entirely on what is bothering you, and the options are not interchangeable.
Most people arrive with a treatment already in mind, usually from something they read online. Often it is not the one that will actually solve their problem. The consultation is where we work that out.
What Is Bothering You?
Discoloured or yellowing teeth
Teeth whitening is the least invasive and least expensive option, and it works well for age and staining from coffee, tea, wine and tobacco. It will not change grey discolouration or lighten crowns and fillings.
Chipped, worn or misshapen teeth
Bonding builds up a tooth with composite resin in a single visit and is the most affordable fix for small chips. Veneers cover the front surface entirely and handle larger changes in shape and colour.
Crooked or crowded teeth
Invisalign moves your own teeth into position. It takes months rather than weeks, and the result is your natural teeth, straightened.
Veneers are sometimes marketed as an alternative — faster, but it means permanently reducing healthy tooth enamel to mask a problem orthodontics could actually correct. For mild crowding in an otherwise healthy mouth, we will usually steer you toward aligners.
Gaps between teeth
Small gaps can be closed with bonding or veneers. Larger ones are better handled with Invisalign.
Missing teeth
This is restorative rather than purely cosmetic. See implants, bridges and dentures.
Damaged teeth that also look wrong
Where a tooth is structurally compromised, a crown restores both strength and appearance. A veneer would not hold.
Sequence Matters
Order of treatment makes a real financial difference, and getting it wrong means paying twice.
Straighten before you veneer, or you will build veneers onto misaligned teeth. Whiten before placing crowns or veneers, so the new restorations are matched to the shade you actually want — restorations cannot be whitened afterwards.
And treat decay and gum disease before any cosmetic work. Veneers on unhealthy gums look wrong within a year as the tissue recedes.
What We Will Not Do
We will not prepare eight healthy front teeth for veneers because someone saw a result online. Enamel does not grow back, and veneers are a lifelong commitment to maintaining and eventually replacing them.
Where a less invasive treatment will get you most of the way there, we will recommend that instead — even where it earns us less.
Cost and Coverage
Cosmetic treatment is not covered by insurance or the Canadian Dental Care Plan, since it is elective. See fees and payment for how the options compare — whitening is the least expensive, veneers and Invisalign considerably more.
Where a treatment has a functional justification as well as a cosmetic one — a crown on a cracked tooth, for instance — insurance often covers part of it.
The Consultation
Bring photos if there is a look you are aiming for. We will assess what is realistic given your teeth, explain the options with honest pros and cons, and give you written costs.
No pressure to decide on the day. Cosmetic work is elective and you should think about it.
Book a Cosmetic Consultation
Book online, or read patient reviews first.