For that perfect smile on your wedding day

1 Professional Whitening

This is the simplest and quickest way to get a dazzling smile! For something as important as a wedding, I recommend you get whitening done by a professional rather than the over-the-counter whitening kits. A professional would be able to tell you if whitening is suitable for you and what can be predictably achieved. There is usually some temporary sensitivity for a few days. So plan your dates accordingly.

Time taken: 45 minutes to 1 hour

Recovery time: 1-2 days

Costs: Dh1500 to 2500

Results last for: About 6 months to 2 years depending on diet and smoking.

2 Gum recontouring

This minor surgical procedure can be done if you have a gummy smile. For very excessive gum display, some bone around the teeth might need to be recontoured and trimmed. The procedure is usually done under local anaesthesia. Pain in minimal and recovery is usually very quick with minimal to no swelling. Complex gum procedures need to be done about two months prior but simple treatment can be done even a week or two before the big day.

Time taken: 1 to 3 hours

Recovery time: 2 - 7 days

Costs: Dh2500-7500 depending upon number of teeth and complexity

Results last for: Usually a lifetime.

3 Inman aligner

This is a hugely under-rated appliance that can move crooked front teeth extremely rapidly– weeks instead of months unlike braces or clear aligners. The only disadvantages are that it could sometimes affect the speech and it is not as discreet as aligners. Make sure that your practitioner is a certified Inman aligner provider.

Time taken: 2 weeks to 12 weeks

Recovery time: None

Costs: Dh5000 to 10,000

Results last for: A lifetime provided retention protocols are followed.

4 Bonding

This is an amazing and less invasive option to ceramic or porcelain veneers. It’s done by placing composite resin over the teeth to close gaps, correct minor imperfections in tooth position, discolouration of the teeth that cannot be bleached or whitened, and issues with the tooth shape. Usually, the teeth are not ground or shaved down and the entire process is completely reversible. Although cheaper than ceramic veneers, bonding can give you a pretty decent result and can satisfy most patient requirements.

Time taken: about 1 to 4 hours depending upon the number of teeth

Recovery time: None

Costs: Dh2000 to 20,000 depending on the number of teeth.

Results last for: 5 to 10 years. Requires polishing every six months during your cleaning appointment for optimum results.

5 Hollywood smile

This is the most complex treatment and requires good planning as well a skilled dentist and an excellent lab technician to get stellar results. There is usually some tooth preparation required even though it is minimal. Usually this is done with Ceramic Veneers but some ceramic crowns might be required as well. This is usually the best option for teeth which are severely discoloured or major changes are required to tooth shape or teeth which have multiple fillings on them. Be wary of extremely low prices which get advertised from time to time; the quality of work might be doubtful and badly done veneers can be become extremely expensive and troublesome to fix.

Time taken: Preparation time about 4 hours. Cementation time: about 2 hours.

Recovery time: about 1 to 2 days

Costs: About Dh12,000 to 40,000 depending on the number of teeth.

Results last for: 10 to 15 years. Requires basic maintenance.