The ‘I still want to look like me’ approach to cosmetic treatments
There is a particular sentence that says a lot about modern dental aesthetics, and perhaps aesthetics in general. “I want to look better, but I still want to look like me.” A sentiment being heard increasingly often in dentistry and beyond, but what does it mean for the industry?
Most people nowadays don’t seem to be chasing the “Hollywood smile” or a set of perfectly straight, pearly-white teeth. Instead, it seems that people simply want to stop hiding their smile in a photo, feel happier when they’re at work, or address something that has been bugging them for a while.
Dental aesthetics and self-confidence can be tricky to navigate, particularly for busy working parents; life gets in the way, the nuances are numerous, and finding time for yourself becomes harder. Taking time to do something for yourself can start to feel selfish, but it does not necessarily mean you want a dramatic transformation.
Increasingly, the goal for many people is not to look different or alter an appearance. It’s to look like yourself on a really good day. For working parents, there’s a practical side to that too. Any treatment has to fit around work, school runs, family life and a diary that is already full. A dramatic transformation may not just feel unnecessary; it may be completely unrealistic.
The Case for Doing Less
Thinking about cosmetic treatments can conjure up images of dramatic transformations, filler in lots of places, skin being tightened, and the whole dramatic before-and-after package.
But the modern world of cosmetics does not really mean ‘reinvention’, the conversation has moved on from that kind of treatment to a more sustainable, natural way of thinking, particularly in the world of dentistry.
In fact, one of the biggest changes in modern dentistry is the growing emphasis on restraint. This might mean improving the brightness of teeth by a few shades, rather than bleaching them bright white. It could mean subtly reshaping one or two teeth as opposed to rebuilding a smile. It might even mean improving alignment whilst preserving natural character.
Today, the best result is not when the world can immediately see that you’ve had work done; it’s someone telling you that you look well. For anyone considering treatment, this is where choosing the right clinician really does matter. A great clinician will use an assessment or a consultation to discover why you want treatment in the first place, not just list everything they could do.
They will then work collaboratively with a patient to uncover and plan the best route to success, often with fewer procedures than the patient originally imagined they might need. They will explore elements of a smile that the patient likes and figure out a way to keep that smile personal and characterful.
This is also why having more than one treatment option matters. Derry dentist Claire Hughes, for example, lists smile design, Invisalign, composite bonding and porcelain veneers among the treatments available at her practice. Those options sit at very different points on the scale of intervention, which is exactly why a proper assessment should come before deciding what, if anything, needs changing.
You Don’t Have to Fix Everything
One of the supposed traps of cosmetic treatments is thinking that once one thing has been changed, there will be a knock-on effect and you’ll have to change everything.
This is absolutely not the case in today’s world. Perhaps your teeth are generally healthy but slightly uneven, perhaps a tooth is chipped, maybe years of coffee have left them a little stained, or possibly your teeth have shifted position since you had your teenage braces removed. Each of these examples can be approached in a conservative way, without overhauling the whole smile; this is where careful treatment planning comes into its own.
A clinician should be looking at the relationship between tooth position, tooth shape, colour, gums, lips, and the way teeth show when smiling. Sometimes the most appropriate solution will be surprisingly small, despite what a patient might think or want.
Sometimes a simple whitening can have a huge impact. Often minor contouring, reshaping or bonding could make a noticeable difference. Sometimes a little realignment may be all that’s needed to make a noticeable difference to a smile. But, occasionally, the best clinical recommendation can be absolutely no work at all.
This is an extremely important responsibility for all aesthetic clinicians carrying out cosmetic dentistry. Sometimes what we have is just right, and a realistic conversation can be far more valuable than complete reinvention.
Alignment Can Do More Than You Think
Back in the day, teeth straightening was closely associated with teenagers whose smiles needed correcting. We have images of mouths full of metal, painful aches as teeth are pulled into place, and unpleasant stains left behind.
The modern reality, however, is far more discreet and manageable, with treatment available to people of almost all ages. For many people, the issue is not needing larger teeth, more uniform teeth, or whiter teeth; it’s simply that the teeth need some repositioning. Enter new technologies like Invisalign.
Moving the teeth into a more balanced and even position can make a surprisingly big difference to a smile, whilst retaining all of the natural structure of teeth; a distinction that truly matters.
Most importantly, being able to achieve all of this without without traditional metal braces, using a series of clear, removable aligners that gradually move the teeth over time. Invisalign aligners are generally prescribed for roughly 20–22 hours a day.
A patient who initially thinks they’ll need veneers, and possibly some more invasive surgeries, may well discover that alignment was the issue all along. In fact, it’s very common for patients who have had their teeth aligned to realise that they need no extra work at all.
Solving alignment issues can also be a great place to start if there are further issues that need to be addressed, giving the practitioner a solid foundation to work from, and a clear indication of what can be achieved with a smile.
If the question is, “What is the most conservative and least invasive way I can achieve incredible results?” then clear aligners may be part of the answer.
The Psychology of a Smile
Often, dental work, even subtle cosmetic treatments, are lumped in with vanity projects. But there is much more to it than that. Our smile is part of how we present ourselves to the world. We use it to communicate, show emotion and express ourselves.
Imagine for a moment, if you will, that every time you smile, laugh with friends, have your photo taken or kiss a loved one, you feel self-conscious about your teeth. That self-consciousness can start to colour interactions at work, at home and socially.
The psychological impact of this shouldn’t be underestimated. An Adult Oral Health Survey found that 43% of Brits felt their oral health had negatively affected their daily life, with self-consciousness and embarrassment around things such as smiling and laughing among the common impacts. None of this means aesthetic dentistry is the answer for everyone. But it does show how the way we feel about our teeth can reach well beyond simple vanity.
The Working Parent Reality
For many parents, the toll of constantly balancing priorities – jobs, kids, school, sports, and social occasions all adds up pretty quickly; it can be all too easy to sacrifice your self-care. Things just start to seem less important as your priorities grow.
Getting a smile makeover might sit pretty far down your list of things to do, and that’s understandable. If you do decide to explore treatment, the more useful question is whether it can fit comfortably around the life you already have.
With more discreet and less invasive options available, cosmetic dentistry does not necessarily have to mean putting life on hold. A good treatment plan should take work, family commitments and the amount of maintenance involved into account, rather than expecting everything else to revolve around the treatment.
This is one of the key reasons orthodontic work is attractive to busy parents; treatments can be undertaken over a long period, considered decisions can be made, and some treatments involve little or no downtime, depending on the work. The right plan is not necessarily the fastest or most comprehensive; it’s the one that works for the person sitting in the chair.
Better, Not Different
So now we see how the shift in dentistry over the last few decades has impacted what people are looking for, and vice versa. For a long time, we undervalued the importance of having a natural smile that allows us to be comfortable, confident, and able to express ourselves fully.
Perfection has been swept aside as people start to seek results that maintain personal traits, are far less invasive, and don’t interrupt their lives. The ‘Hollywood smile’ is no longer the default aspiration; we’re deep into the ‘natural, everyday person being the best version of themselves’ era. The best aesthetic work, dental or otherwise, should not announce itself before you do. It should allow you to be you with the people you love the most, without feeling like you’ve traded in your identity.
Sometimes, looking exactly like yourself, only a more confident version, is truly the transformation people have been looking for.
