The easiest way to describe the smile you want is to bring photos: a few clear pictures of your own smile today, and two or three smiles you like with a note on what you like about each. Then describe what bothers you in plain words, such as "my front teeth look short" or "I want them lighter but not bright white", and let the clinician translate that into shade, length, shape and position. You do not need dental vocabulary. You need specific examples and a clear sense of how much change you want.
This guide covers what to gather before a cosmetic consult, the words that help and the ones that cause confusion, and how the team at Lumi Dental in Melrose Park NSW turns what you say into a plan you can see before any tooth is touched.
Start with what bothers you, not with a treatment
A consult works best when you describe the problem and leave the treatment open. Saying "I want veneers" narrows the conversation early. Saying "my two front teeth look darker and slightly longer than the rest" gives the clinician something to measure, and the answer may turn out to be whitening, bonding, a small amount of reshaping, aligners or veneers.
Before the visit, stand in front of a mirror in daylight and write down two or three things you notice. Common examples are colour, chips or worn edges, gaps, teeth that look short or uneven, a crooked tooth, gums that show a lot when you smile, or dark triangles between teeth. Then rank them. Most people have one thing that bothers them far more than the rest, and knowing which one helps the clinician suggest the least invasive way to fix it.
Photos that are useful to bring or send
Your own photos give the clinician a starting point, and inspiration photos show what you are aiming for. Phone photos are fine if they are taken well.
- A relaxed face with lips apart, looking straight at the camera.
- A full natural smile from the front, from about arm's length, with the phone held at lip height.
- The same smile from the left and right sides.
- A close-up of your teeth with lips pulled gently back, if you can manage it.
Take them in daylight near a window, without flash, filters or beauty modes, because these change tooth colour and shape. Videos of you talking and laughing help too, since a smile moves and a still photo can hide or exaggerate things.
For inspiration photos, two or three are enough. Choose smiles on faces with a similar shape and colouring to yours where you can, and write one line under each: "I like how even the edges are", "I like that you can see the side teeth", "I like the colour but not the length". The note matters more than the photo, because two people can admire the same smile for different reasons.
Words that help, and what the clinician hears
Everyday words can be translated into clear design choices if you add a little detail. The table shows common phrases, the question a clinician is likely to ask next, and what each may mean for treatment.
| What you might say | What the clinician will want to know | What it may point to |
|---|---|---|
| "Whiter" | Lighter than now, or as light as possible? Natural or bright? | Whitening first; shade choice for any veneers or bonding afterwards |
| "Straighter" | Is it the position of the teeth, or the edges looking uneven? | Aligners for position; bonding or reshaping for uneven edges |
| "Bigger" or "longer" | Do your teeth show when your lips are relaxed? How much gum shows when you smile? | Adding length with bonding or veneers, or gum contouring if gum covers the teeth |
| "Wider smile" | Are there dark spaces at the corners when you smile? | Side teeth position or shape, sometimes aligners before any veneers |
| "Natural" | Do you want small character such as softer edges and slight translucency? | Shape and surface texture choices in porcelain or composite |
| "Perfect" or "Hollywood" | How even and how bright? Are you happy for people to notice dental work? | Usually more teeth treated and a lighter shade; worth seeing in a mock-up first |
The words "natural" and "white" pull in different directions more often than people expect. Our article on choosing a natural tooth shade explains how lightness, warmth and translucency work together, and why the lightest shade on the guide can look flat on some faces.
Details that change the design
A few features of your face and smile shape the plan as much as the teeth themselves. You do not need to analyse them, but knowing they exist helps you describe what you see.
How much tooth shows at rest. With your lips relaxed and slightly apart, some upper tooth usually shows, more in younger faces. If none shows, teeth may look short or worn. Our guide to lip line and tooth display at rest explains what is typical.
The curve of the edges. In many attractive smiles the edges of the upper front teeth follow the curve of the lower lip. A flat or reversed line can make a smile look older or worn, which is covered in our article on the smile arc.
The width of the smile. Dark spaces at the corners of the mouth can make a smile look narrow, and the fix may involve the side teeth rather than the front ones.
Your bite and habits. Grinding, a deep bite or worn edges affect which materials will last. Mention clenching, night guards or chipped teeth even if they seem unrelated to looks.
Practical points to share at the start
Some information changes the plan as much as the look you want, so it is worth saying early.
- Your rough budget, so options can be matched to it rather than discussed in the abstract.
- Any deadline, such as a wedding or a move, and how much time you can give to appointments.
- How you feel about removing tooth structure. Some people prefer additive options such as bonding even if they need more upkeep.
- Previous dental work on the front teeth, and recent X-rays if you have them.
- That you live outside Sydney, if you will be travelling for treatment.
As a guide to general market costs in Australia, porcelain veneers commonly cost around $1,500 to $2,500 per tooth and direct composite bonding around $250 to $800 per tooth. Professional take-home whitening commonly sits around $300 to $700. The total depends heavily on how many teeth are treated; our article on how many veneers people need works through that. For Lumi Dental's own fees and any current offers, see the current deals page, or ask for a written quote at your consult.
How Lumi turns your description into a preview
At Lumi Dental, a cosmetic consult starts with a conversation about what you would like to change and an assessment of your teeth and gums, and you leave with a plan that lists options and costs. The free cosmetic consult also includes a smile preview.
For larger changes, the team uses digital smile planning: photos, video and a 3D scan are combined so tooth length, width and edge position can be designed against your face rather than on the teeth alone. Dr James Tran has completed Digital Smile Design training with Dr Christian Coachman. The design can then be tried in your mouth as a temporary trial smile mock-up, so you can look at it, talk with it and photograph it before deciding. A mock-up is a preview to help you decide, not a promise of the final result, and the final teeth can differ in detail.
This is where your inspiration photos and notes earn their place. If something in the preview feels off, saying "the edges look too straight" or "it looks too white next to my skin" gives the team a precise change to make. Treatment options are explained on the porcelain veneers and composite bonding pages.
Describing your smile from interstate
If you live in Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane or regional New South Wales, the same photos and notes can be sent before you book flights. A clinician can then speak with you by video or phone about what is likely to be involved and how many trips it may take. A final plan still depends on an examination in person, because gum health, the bite and old fillings cannot be judged properly from photos. Our guide to travelling interstate for dental treatment sets out how visits are usually arranged.
Questions we are often asked
Is it a problem if I bring a photo of a celebrity's smile?
No. It is a useful starting point, as long as you say what you like about it. Celebrity smiles are often very light and very even, and the same design can look different on another face, so the clinician may suggest adapting it to your lips, face shape and skin tone.
Will the dentist notice things I have not mentioned?
Usually, yes, and that is part of the assessment. Dentists and lay people do not always notice the same things. Kokich, Kiyak and Shapiro (Journal of Esthetic Dentistry, 1999) found that lay people often did not notice small changes such as a midline shifted by a few millimetres, while dentists did. A good consult separates what bothers you from what only a clinician would see, so you do not end up treating things you never minded.
Can I see the result before agreeing to treatment?
Often you can see a preview. A digital design or a mock-up in your mouth shows the planned shape and length. Coachman and Calamita (Quintessence of Dental Technology, 2012) describe this approach as a way to improve communication between patient and clinical team. It is still a preview, and the final result can vary.
What if I do not know what I want?
That is common. Bring your current photos and one or two smiles you like, and describe how you feel when you see your teeth in photos. The clinician can show you options, from whitening alone to larger changes, and you can decide how far you want to go.
