How a Smile Makeover Is Planned From Start to Finish
Most people picture a smile makeover as a single dramatic reveal, but the real work happens long before any tooth is touched. A good outcome depends less on the specific procedures chosen and more on how carefully the plan behind them was built, and on how well that plan reflects your face, your bite, and what you actually want to see when you smile. At Haratz Dental Care, we treat that planning stage as the most important part of the entire process. Dr. Adela Haratz has spent more than three decades building custom smile designs, and every case still starts the same way: with a conversation, a close look at what is already working in your smile, and a plan built around your face rather than a generic template.Starting With A Real Conversation
Before any imaging or diagnostics begin, the first step is simply talking through what bothers you about your smile and what you hope changes. Some patients want a brighter, more uniform look. Others are focused on a chipped edge, a gap, or teeth that feel too small or too worn down for their age. This conversation shapes everything that follows. A patient who wants a subtle refresh needs a different plan than someone chasing a complete transformation, even if their starting teeth look similar. Getting this part right avoids the most common problem in cosmetic dentistry, which is a technically well-done result that still does not feel like the patient’s own smile.Mapping The Mouth With Digital Tools
Once your goals are clear, the next step is building an accurate picture of your current teeth, gums, and bite. We use iTero digital scanning instead of traditional putty impressions, which means no messy trays and a more precise, comfortable starting point for planning. Intraoral cameras let us show you exactly what we see, magnified and displayed on a screen right in the room. Instead of trying to interpret an X-ray on your own, you can look at the same images we are looking at while we walk through what each one means for your treatment options.Why This Step Cannot Be Skipped
Skipping detailed diagnostics is one of the fastest ways a smile makeover goes wrong. Gum health, bite alignment, and the condition of existing dental work all affect which cosmetic options are realistic, and a plan built without that information tends to run into surprises partway through treatment.Matching Treatment Options To Your Goals
A smile makeover is rarely just one procedure. Depending on what your scans and conversation reveal, a plan may combine porcelain veneers, Invisalign, professional teeth whitening, or gum contouring to correct a gummy smile, each addressing a different part of the overall picture. A few common building blocks come up often enough that it helps to understand what each one does before your consultation.- Veneers: thin custom shells bonded to the front of teeth to correct shape, color, or minor spacing issues
- Invisalign: clear aligners that gradually shift crowded or misaligned teeth without traditional brackets
- Teeth whitening: professional treatment to brighten teeth that have dulled or stained over time
- Gum contouring: reshaping uneven or excess gum tissue so more of the tooth is visible when you smile
Reviewing The Plan Before Anything Is Permanent
Once a plan is drafted, we walk through it together again before committing to any irreversible steps. This includes discussing sequencing, since some treatments, like Invisalign, may need to happen before others, such as veneers, so that the final result lines up correctly. According to the American Dental Association, a clinical exam and a clear understanding of a patient’s history and expectations should come before any elective cosmetic whitening treatment begins, which reflects the same sequencing logic that applies across most smile makeover planning. Financing is also part of this conversation. We do not bill cosmetic treatment through dental insurance, so patients typically use CareCredit, Cherry, or our in-house membership plan to spread out the cost of a plan once it is finalized.Planning Your Smile Makeover At Haratz Dental Care
Every smile makeover we plan starts with the same commitment to slowing down before speeding up. Dr. Haratz is Invisalign certified and a member of the American Association of Cosmetic Dentistry, and that background shapes how closely each plan is tailored rather than pulled from a standard playbook. Combined with iTero scanning, intraoral cameras, and multilingual care in English, Spanish, and Hebrew, the planning stage is built to make sure you understand every option before deciding on any of them. If you have been considering a smile makeover and want a plan built around your own goals rather than a one-size-fits-all package, our team is ready to walk you through what that could look like. Reach out through our contact page to schedule a consultation and start mapping out your own plan.
Written & Reviewed By
Dr. Adela Haratz, DDS
Dr. Adela Haratz is the founder of Haratz Dental and has more than 40 years of experience in dentistry. She is recognized as an aesthetic and scientific authority in dental artistry and facial aesthetics, and fellow dentists regularly turn to her for continuing education.
She earned her degree from the University of Miami and opened her private practice in Aventura in 2010. A member of the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, Dr. Haratz focuses on veneers, smile design, full mouth rehabilitation, and root canal therapy. She and her team care for patients in English, Spanish, and Hebrew near Aventura, FL.