How To Get the Perfect Smile for Your Wedding Day

7 Things to Do for a Perfect Smile on Your Wedding Day

If your big day is coming up, you’ll want to do all you can to achieve your brightest and best smile. This is true even if your wedding is still a few months away. The sooner you begin caring for your smile, the better it will be on the day you say “I do.”

Here are 7 things you can do to have a bright, white, confident smile for your wedding day:

1. Schedule a Smile Consultation

Assessing your situation is the best place to begin. A cosmetic dentist can help with this.

The sooner you schedule a consultation, the better. This is because some dental treatments require several weeks or months for best results.

Here are three things to address during your consultation:

1. What about your smile needs improvement?
2. What can be done to achieve these improvements?
3. Which of these improvements do you have the time and money to do?

Once you have a general list of smile-perfecting techniques, you can prioritize your options.

Are you most concerned about having a bright, white smile? Put teeth whitening procedures at the top of your list.

Do you want a straighter smile? Invest in straightening devices like braces or aligners. Note: You’ll want to do this at least a year in advance.

Are you dealing with serious dental issues that must come before cosmetic issues? These problems will also affect your smile’s appearance, so you should address them before anything else.

2. Maintain Good Dental Health at Home

No matter how drastic your efforts are to improve your smile before your wedding, there’s one important thing that everyone should do. This is to maintain your oral health at home.

Always make sure to brush and floss as directed by your dentist. It’s especially important in the days, weeks, and months leading up to your big day.

Maybe you’ve always loved your smile and you like it just the way it is. Great! But it’s important to keep your teeth healthy and do all you can to ensure your breath and teeth stay fresh.

You can also add items such as a travel toothbrush, floss, and mouthwash in a small makeup bag to carry with you. This way you can check in throughout your wedding day to ensure your mouth is clean and your breath is as fresh as possible.

If you’ve waited too long and are far from a near perfect smile, don’t worry. There are tricks you can use to get a beautiful smile and make your teeth appear whiter for your wedding day.

For example:

• Choose a blue-based red lipstick for your makeup
• Wear sparkling earrings and other jewelry
• Use at-home whitening “paint”
• Try photo-editing techniques that correct what you don’t like in your wedding photos, like discolored teeth

3. Whiten Your Teeth

Whitening is one of the most common cosmetic dentistry procedures someone undergoes in preparation for their wedding.

Whitening reduces yellow discoloration on your natural teeth.

Over-the-counter (OTC) whitening treatments for at-home use tend to provide less drastic results than procedures your dentist performs. They mostly clean surface stains, but for many this is enough.

At-home options are more affordable. For some people, a combination of professional and at-home maintenance provides the best results.

In addition to what you can do to whiten your teeth, you’ll want to think about what to avoid in the weeks and months leading up to your wedding day.

4. Alter Your Diet

One of the best things you can do to prevent stained teeth for your wedding day is to avoid foods that discolor your teeth.

When possible, avoid drinking red wine, cola, and coffee. If you’re unwilling to give up these beverages, drink through a straw when you can to avoid direct contact with your teeth.

This is a good idea whether or not you are investing in the professional whitening.

Crunchy fruits and vegetables are great for cleaning your teeth and avoiding stains.  

5. Schedule a Dental Cleaning

This seems simple, but many people focus so much on cosmetic issues they forget about basic dental care. Whether you get dental cleanings every 4 to 6 months or it’s been a while, make sure you schedule a visit to your dentist’s office within a few weeks of your wedding day. 

Not only does a dental cleaning  ensure your teeth will be as clean as possible, but it also helps avoid any looming dental health issues. The last thing you want is a bad toothache on your wedding day.

6. Teeth Straightening 

Braces adjust the placement of your teeth. They correct issues such as crowding or crooked teeth. 

In the past, braces were a combination of metal brackets and wires that shifted teeth over time. Nowadays, there are many different options, including porcelain brackets and plastic trays. These options don’t use bulky metal braces that look and feel uncomfortable. 

The important thing to remember about braces is that it’s a process that takes time. You won’t be able to get braces a month or two before your wedding and achieve the results you want. 

If you’d like to make adjustments that require braces, speak to your dentist as soon as possible.

Clear Aligners

Clear aligners, including Invisalign, are one of the most popular options for straightening today. Adults often choose clear aligners because they straighten teeth discreetly.

Clear aligners are transparent, plastic trays that slowly move teeth into the correct position. They are available from your dentist or orthodontist (Invisalign and Candid) or from home (direct-to-consumer brands like Byte and NewSmile).

Clear aligners correct:

• Crowded teeth
• Overbite
• Underbite
• Diasteme
• Open bite
• Misaligned baby teeth

The costs of clear aligners vary based on the brand and the degree of correction needed. In most cases, they range from $1,500 to $8,000. 

7. Porcelain Veneers

Veneers can whiten teeth, but they also offer so much more.

Veneers are a significant investment that drastically improves your smile. They are thin shells that fit over your teeth to change their shape, color, and size. If you’ve ever considered veneers, your upcoming wedding is a great time to take the leap.

In addition to eliminating discoloration, veneers hide misshapen or crowded teeth and damaged tooth enamel.

It’s possible to get partial or full veneers. For example, some people only need veneers on their lower or upper teeth. This makes it less expensive but still allows you to correct the things you don’t like about your smile. 

Getting veneers also takes less time than whitening and other corrective processes. Veneers might be an option if you’ve waited too long for other treatments.

Keep in mind: Veneers are expensive, so they aren’t a good option for everyone.