Step 1: Records

A good design starts with good data. We collect extra-oral and intra-oral photographs, an intraoral scan, radiographs and, for larger cases, models mounted with a facebow so that the way your jaws close is reproduced in the laboratory (Rosenstiel et al., 2006; Hupp et al., 2014). Photography serves several purposes at once: planning, documentation, self-evaluation by the dentist, communication with the ceramist and with you, and a medicolegal record; the same chapter warns that lighting can hide or highlight a restoration, which is why we photograph under standardised conditions rather than flattering ones (Manauta et al., 2023).

Step 2: Analysis, the parameters we look at

• Lip line and tooth display: studies using rated photographs found the most attractive smiles showed the full outline of the upper front teeth back to beyond the first molar, while ageing smiles show less upper incisor (Rosenstiel et al., 2006).
• Smile arc and buccal corridor: in the most attractive smiles the curve of the incisal edges parallels the lower lip, and the dark spaces at the corners of the smile are moderate (Rosenstiel et al., 2006).
• Proportions: golden-proportion tools exist, but simulated-smile research found designing to them “is by no means optimal”; dentists preferred central incisors with a width-to-length ratio of roughly 75–78%, and the periodontal literature cites an ideal of 0.78–0.85 (Rosenstiel et al., 2006; Newman et al., 2019).
• Midline: deviations up to about 2.2 ± 1.5 mm were judged acceptable, but the dental and facial midlines should coincide (Rosenstiel et al., 2006).
• Gum margins: central incisors level, laterals about 1 mm lower, canines level with the centrals; discrepancies that the lip never reveals need no correction (Newman et al., 2019).
• Shape and colour: an international imaging study rated light colours, oval teeth for women and rectangular teeth for men as most attractive, a finding we treat as a starting point, not a prescription (Rosenstiel et al., 2006).

Excess gum display is analysed by cause, because a skeletal cause needs a different solution from a gum-level cause; the options are described on our gum aesthetics page (Newman et al., 2019).

Step 3: The wax-up

“For all but the most straightforward prosthodontic treatment plans, a diagnostic waxing procedure should be performed,” the fixed prosthodontics textbook states (Rosenstiel et al., 2006). The proposed teeth are built on a model, physically or digitally and then printed, and this is where the design meets reality: how much lengthening the bite allows, whether a space can be closed by widening teeth alone, whether a tooth needs a veneer or a crown. Diagnostic preparations on the model let the clinician “rehearse” treatment and see how much tooth each option would remove (Rosenstiel et al., 2006).

Step 4: The mock-up in your mouth

A vacuum-formed matrix made over the wax-up is filled with temporary resin and seated on your unprepared teeth, so that the proposed shape appears in your mouth within minutes and can be photographed, spoken with and judged in a mirror (Rosenstiel et al., 2006). This is the single most useful appointment in the process. Patients often ask for less change than they expected once they see it; sometimes they ask for more. Adjustments are made on the resin, and the final shape is agreed before any tooth is touched. The textbook principle applies throughout: the patient’s opinion is paramount; the dentist provides expert knowledge (Rosenstiel et al., 2006).

Step 5: Try-in and delivery

A silicone index of the agreed wax-up guides the ceramist and the preparation, and the position of the incisal edges is checked at try-in for function, appearance and speech before the restorations are bonded (Rosenstiel et al., 2006). Final ceramics differ from resin in colour and translucency, so the try-in with a trial paste is the moment to approve shade and fit. Only then are veneers bonded or crowns cemented.

Sequencing across disciplines

Periodontal preparation, such as crown lengthening or ridge augmentation, precedes restorative dentistry in sequenced care (Newman et al., 2019). If the design shows that the gum line, not the teeth, is the problem, that is treated first and allowed to heal. If teeth are crowded or tilted, orthodontics may achieve the result with far less tooth reduction, and a wise design says so. Missing front teeth are planned with the implant surgeon so that the implant sits where the designed tooth needs it. The disciplines involved at our clinic, periodontology, oral surgery and restorative dentistry, are introduced on the team page.

Visit plan for international patients

1. WhatsApp pre-assessment: send a frontal smile photograph, a close-up of the teeth and a relaxed-lip photograph; we give preliminary thoughts and tell you which records we will need.
2. Design visit (generally 2–3 days): records, analysis, wax-up and mock-up; approval or revision. This can be combined with the treatment visit when the plan is restorative only.
3. Treatment visit (generally 5–7 days for veneers, crowns or bonding): preparation, provisionals, try-in and delivery.
4. Staged cases: gum surgery or implants are done first, with healing of weeks to months before the restorative visit.

Limits and risks

A simulation is a communication tool. The final result is not guaranteed to match the preview, and unrealistic expectations are a recognised reason for dissatisfaction that the textbooks advise addressing before treatment (Hupp et al., 2014). The specific risks of a poorly sequenced plan are over-reduction of teeth where orthodontics would have been more conservative and gum asymmetries left uncorrected under new restorations. Healthy gums are a precondition; gingival inflammation is reversible with plaque control, and we treat it before any aesthetic work (Löe et al., 1965; Chapple et al., 2018).

What determines the cost of a smile design?

• Records and design (photography, scan, wax-up, mock-up).
• Number of teeth included in the final plan.
• Type of restoration: bonding, veneers, crowns or a mix.
• Preparatory treatment: gum reshaping, crown lengthening, orthodontics, implants, whitening.

A written fee follows the design visit; our prices and campaigns page explains the fee structure and instalment options.

Searching for the “best smile design in Istanbul”: what to check

• Is there a physical mock-up in your mouth, not only a photo simulation?
• Is a try-in of the real restorations done before they are fixed?
• Are gum line, bite and orthodontic options assessed, and sequenced before restorations when needed?
• Is the amount of tooth reduction for each option explained?
• Are the limits of the preview stated honestly?
• Can you take the design home and decide later?

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

Medical content review: Dr. Dt. Mehmet Fuat BozabaHead physician, works in periodontology and oral surgery · Last updated: October 2026 · About the head physician

Contact: Yayla Dental Akademi, Ferit Selimpaşa Cad. No:44A, Bahçelievler, Istanbul (Basın Sitesi, opposite Migros; about 600 m from İlkyuva metro station). Monday–Saturday 10:00–21:00, Sunday closed. WhatsApp and phone: +90 544 289 66 33 · Online booking: DoktorTakvimi.

Sources

This page is for information only; diagnosis and treatment plans are determined by a dentist after an examination. A smile simulation is a planning aid and does not guarantee an individual result.