Cosmetic dentistry is something that’s very personal and it’s something that you should really research on before you embark on your journey. Now cosmetic practices vary. Different cosmetic practices actually have got a different set of skills and different special interests, so before you even go to a cosmetic practice, be certain to actually do some research and find out who they are as a brand, as a culture, and what they can actually provide you.
Now cosmetic dentistry from practice to practice actually varies. It depends on the surgeon’s talent, skill, eye for aesthetics, experience, levels of education, and his entire team. Not to mention, the dentist firm that he works with very closely, because as good as it is, a cosmetic dentist basically designs a smile, prepares the teeth to ensure that the ceramics sit on your teeth really well, and to ensure that your teeth are nice and healthy for years to come, but the process of making these ceramics is actually done by a dentist ceramist.
A dentist ceramist by itself is a very specialised profession because all they do from day in and day out would be to do ceramics or porcelain teeth and they follow the prescription of the dentist or the surgeon to make the smile for you. When you work with a cosmetic practice, for example, you need to remember that you’re not just paying for the dentist, you’re paying for the ceramist, the team, experience, expertise, and materials that he uses, because different materials provide or gives a different sort of longevity or a different sort of aesthetic outcome.
I’m just going to draw a parallel here. When you want to go from destination A to B, if all you care about is just going from A to B without anything else, without any frills, you might want to take a budget car, but if you want an enjoyable ride where you’re comfortable and it’s long lasting and it gives you pride to be in the car, you might want to go somewhere where it allows you to get a really good smile, long lasting, and somewhere where it has got experience or years of experience and a lot of before and afters to prove that they’ve been doing this on being in the industry for a long time.
Choosing a good dental practice for cosmetic dentistry is really important because number one, a good cosmetic practice should allow you to express what you want. That’s the first thing, so expression and communication you want and fulfilling that is key because without that your smile or the end result that you get may not be what you hoped to be. The cosmetic surgeon and the practice should be able to communicate with you exactly what you want, even without you knowing it.
Now number two, the cosmetic practice should be able to help you with payment options, for example, because while we want to provide good work, payment wise or finance wise could be something that you may want to consider, so having some payment options available from the cosmetic practice would help you in making the final decision to move forward with your treatment, so that you get the best result with the budget that you need.
Finally, you want something that’s written or a quote to finalise your plan because if the cosmetic practice is a bit “wishy-washy” about what the final options are where there’s no written quote, there’s no final payment or fee, you might be in for some surprises, which is not something we want any of our patients to go through. When you leave our practice, for example, you’ll always be given a written quote, written assessment, and a finalised fee so that when you come in for the session, there’s no surprises whatsoever.
It’s just one of those things where if you find a cosmetic practice, you want to make sure that you can communicate well with them or they can actually articulate back to you what your needs are. Number two, find a practice that can actually help you with payment options so that you get the best result with your budget, and number three, make sure that you find a practice that gives you the peace of mind where things are written down in writing so that there’s no surprises for you at the end of your treatment.
Cosmetic practice does vary from place to place because experience, quality, and the team they work with differs. Hopefully this has helped you in finding a cosmetic practice to do the smile of your dreams.