How do you decide what my new teeth will look like?

How they work comes first

First we make sure your teeth work. Your bite has to be right, and you need to chew and speak clearly.

Then we work on how they look. That's where most of the week's conversation happens.

We go in that order because the looks are easy to adjust once the bite is right, and very hard to get right if it isn't.

Why we don't show you a mock-up

A picture of your new smile before anything happens sounds like a nice idea. Here's why we don't do it.

A set of teeth can look lovely on a screen and quite different in a real face, next to your lips and your jaw and the way you smile. Sometimes the real thing is even better. Either way, the picture isn't what you'll wear.

It also asks you to choose too early. Many people haven't enjoyed their smile in years, and being handed a book of tooth shapes before you've seen anything in your mouth is a lot to ask.

What we'd love is your inspiration, especially a photo of your own smile from years ago. Your own smile almost always suited your face.

A rule, and knowing when to bend it

There's a classic guide for how teeth are proportioned, roughly one to 1.6. It's the same ratio you see in seashells and paintings. It guides how teeth get narrower across a smile and how tall they are compared with how wide.

We start there. But perfectly even teeth can look lifeless. Real faces aren't symmetrical, and real teeth have small quirks. Those quirks are what make a smile look like yours.

So we follow the rule and know when to bend it. Too strict and the teeth have no personality. Too loose and they look messy. Where that balance sits is different for everyone.

How picky are you?

Here's something we see again and again.

People who say "I'm not fussy, I just want to eat" usually have plenty to say about the final design.

People who warn us they're very particular are usually easier to please than they expected.

So whatever you tell us about yourself, you'll go through the same steps as everyone else, and you'll get to react to the real thing.

How the week goes

Day one gives us the measurements. Exactly where the implants are. Everything after depends on getting this right.

Day two lines up those measurements and gets your bite into place.

By the second prototype the bite is usually settled, and the fun part starts. Shape, character, the things that make the teeth yours.

We often start talking about looks earlier, because that's what people want to talk about. But we lock in the bite first.

What we send to the lab

The technology behind your teeth is impressive: scanning, 3D photography, design files and milling.

The instructions we send to the lab are surprisingly simple. Mostly small turns and shifts. Forward or back, side to side, up or down, measured against points on your face and mouth. "Bring this one forward a little. Turn this one slightly."

Clear, simple instructions are why your teeth come back right and nobody is left guessing overnight.

The hardest part

Neither of the hard parts is technical.

Understanding what you want. Most people have never had to describe teeth before, so the words can be hard to find. Sometimes we adjust based on what we think you mean, you look, and then we understand better. That can take a couple of tries, and that's fine.

The bite. A bite can look right on every scan and every tool we have and still feel wrong to you. You're right about that every time. You've probably had a filling that felt high while the dentist said it looked fine. This is the same thing on a bigger scale. We keep adjusting until it feels right to you.

Everyone else's opinions

You'll hear opinions from a relative who's a dentist, a friend whose sister-in-law worked in a dental office for thirty years, people at work.

That's normal. Bring their comments in and we'll talk them through. We just ask that the design decisions stay between you and us. A smile designed by a committee rarely pleases the person wearing it.

When it's right

There's a moment that's hard to describe. The prototype goes in, you look in the mirror, and it's right. You look like yourself again.

It happens for almost everyone, and you'll know when it does.

The compliment we're working toward is someone telling you that you look well, without being able to say why.