"Smile makeover" is not a treatment, it is a plan. It usually combines whitening, some veneers or crowns, sometimes gum contouring, sometimes replacing old fillings that no longer match. The individual treatments are routine. What decides whether you leave happy is the order they happen in and how much of the planning was done before anything was touched.
Here is how it fits into a two-week trip.
Days 1–2: assessment and design
Photographs, X-rays, and an examination that answers questions you did not ask — is there decay under that old crown, is your bite going to destroy the new work, are the gums healthy enough to bond to.
Then the design. A wax-up on a model or a digital mock-up, so you can see the proposed shape and length before anything is prepared. Ask to see it in daylight, and ask to photograph it. A mock-up you can look at on the beach for a day is worth more than one you approve in the chair in ten minutes.
Decide here, not later: how many teeth, what shape, and roughly what shade.
Day 2–3: whitening, and everything hygienic
If any natural teeth will still be visible next to the new work, they must reach their final shade before anything is made to match them. Porcelain and composite do not respond to whitening gel — see what whitening can and cannot change.
Scaling and any gum treatment happens now too. Bonding to inflamed gums is bad practice, and gum contouring, if it is part of the plan, needs time to settle.
Days 4–5: preparation and temporaries
The teeth are prepared and impressions or scans go to the laboratory. You leave with temporaries — and these matter more than people expect. They are a full-size rehearsal. Live with them for a few days: eat, talk, smile at yourself in a mirror in different light, and take photographs.
If the length is wrong, or they feel bulky, or you hate the shape, say so now. Adjusting a temporary is free. Adjusting bonded porcelain is not.
Days 8–10: try-in and fitting
The finished restorations come back. They are tried in first, held with a temporary paste, and checked — shade against your face, shape, how they look when you talk, whether the midline is right. Then they are bonded, the bite is adjusted, and everything is polished.
Allow a follow-up appointment a day or two afterwards for small bite adjustments. New teeth always need one.
Days 11–14: slack
Keep the last few days free. Every plan that goes wrong goes wrong because there was no slack: a shade needed remaking, a bite needed a second adjustment, a laboratory ran late. If nothing goes wrong you have some days on the beach with new teeth, which is a good outcome either way.
The realistic timetable
| Day | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Examination, X-rays, photographs, design and mock-up |
| 2–3 | Whitening, scaling, any gum work |
| 4–5 | Preparation, impressions, temporaries fitted |
| 6–7 | Living with the temporaries — this is the review period |
| 8–10 | Try-in, adjustments, bonding |
| 11–12 | Bite check and polish |
| 13–14 | Slack |
Decisions worth making before you fly
- How many teeth? More is not better. Ask which teeth actually show when you smile and talk — often fewer than you think.
- How white? The commonest regret is going too bright for the face around it. Look at photographs of people your age, not at brochures.
- Porcelain or composite? The trade-off is time, cost and lifespan.
- Veneers or crowns? Decided by how much sound tooth is left, not by appearance — see veneers or crowns.
- What about the bite? If you grind your teeth, budget for a night guard. Grinding destroys cosmetic work faster than anything else.
Send photographs and your dates before you fly and we will tell you honestly whether the plan fits the days you have. If it does not, better to know now.
How long does a smile makeover take?
Ten to fourteen days for a full porcelain case, including whitening first and slack at the end. Composite-only cases can be much shorter.
Should I whiten before or after veneers?
Before, always, if any natural teeth will still show. New restorations are then matched to the whitened shade.
How many veneers do I need?
However many show when you smile and talk — often six to eight in the upper arch, sometimes fewer. Ask why the number is the number.
Can I change my mind after seeing the temporaries?
Yes, and that is exactly what they are for. Adjustments at the temporary stage are straightforward; after bonding they are not.
What if I grind my teeth?
Say so during planning. It changes the material choice and it means a night guard, without which cosmetic work has a much shorter life.
Still not sure?
Tell us what is bothering you and we will tell you what it would take to fix — before you book anything.
