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A smile makeover is different from getting a single veneer or whitening your teeth. It’s the difference between fixing one thing and transforming everything. In a makeover, Dr. Kriston evaluates every visible element of your smile — color, shape, size, proportions, alignment, gum symmetry, and how the smile relates to your face — and designs a comprehensive plan that addresses all of them together.
A typical smile makeover might combine:
The key word is coordinated. Every element is planned as part of one design, not as a collection of individual fixes. The result is a smile that looks like it belongs to you — because every detail was designed together.
To be clear: a smile makeover is done with permanent restorations that will last many years with proper maintenance. Dr. Kriston does not consider temporary appliances like Snap-On Smile, Smile Transitions, or BioTemps a “smile makeover.” Those are valuable tools for previewing and prototyping — but the makeover itself is the real thing.
This is one of the most common questions patients ask, and the answer depends on how much of a color change you want.
Dr. Kriston starts by having you look at a professional shade guide and decide how much lighter you want your smile to be. That decision drives everything:
One shade lighter. If the change is subtle — just one shade on the guide — you may be able to do just four teeth (the four upper incisors) and have it look completely natural. In a natural dentition, the canines (the “corner” teeth) are usually slightly darker than the four front incisors anyway, so a one-shade difference won’t be noticeable.
Two or more shades lighter. If you want a more significant change, Dr. Kriston recommends including at least six teeth — the four incisors plus both canines. The reason is what he calls “going round the corner.” The canines are the turning point where the front teeth transition to the back teeth. If you lighten the four front teeth but leave the canines at their original shade, the canines appear conspicuously darker than the teeth next to them — it looks unnatural.
Hollywood white or several shades lighter. If you want a dramatic change, Dr. Kriston recommends doing all the teeth that show when you smile. For most people, that’s the front eight teeth. For some — those with a wider smile — it can be ten or even twelve teeth, all the way back to the first molar. Everyone’s smile reveals a different number of teeth, and Dr. Kriston evaluates your specific smile to determine exactly how many teeth need to be included for a seamless result.
One helpful natural advantage: upper and lower teeth are never exactly the same shade in a natural dentition. This means the upper teeth can be made noticeably lighter without touching the lower teeth, and the result still looks natural. This can reduce the scope and cost of a makeover while still delivering a dramatic improvement.
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Selecting the right shade is more complex than choosing “white.” Natural teeth have three dimensions of color, and Dr. Kriston evaluates all three using a professional Vita 3D shade guide:
Value (lightness). How light or dark the tooth appears overall. The shade guide groups teeth by value — if you took a black-and-white photo of the guide, each grouping would share the same gray tone. Selecting the right value is the most important decision, because it determines the overall brightness of your smile.
Chroma (color intensity). Within your chosen value group, how saturated or intense the color is. A tooth can be light with low chroma (appearing very clean and bright) or light with higher chroma (appearing warmer and richer).
Hue (color character). The underlying color tone of the tooth — whether it leans toward yellow or toward red. This is the subtlest dimension but it affects how natural the final shade looks against your skin tone and lip color.
The shade you choose also determines how much the underlying tooth needs to be modified. If you’re transitioning from one value grouping to another — for example, moving from a darker gray-scale group to a lighter one — the veneer or crown material may need greater opacity to block the underlying tooth color. For teeth with dark tetracycline staining, a neutralizing shade of composite may need to be applied underneath the veneer to mask the dark bands. Some ceramic materials are better at this masking than others, but strength and natural aesthetics must always be balanced against opacity.
Dr. Kriston discusses all of this with you before treatment begins. You choose the shade you want, and he engineers the materials and layering needed to achieve it.
A smile makeover is not just about what procedures are done — it’s about when each one happens. The sequence is critical to the final result.
Step 1: Resolve Any Gum Issues First
If there’s any periodontal inflammation — redness, swelling, bleeding — it must be resolved before restorative work begins. The reason is the gum line: Dr. Kriston needs to know exactly where the gums will sit when they’re healthy, because that’s where the edge of each veneer or crown will be placed. If restorations are built while the gums are swollen and the gums later recede to their healthy position, the margin of the restoration will be exposed — a visible line where the veneer ends and the tooth begins.
Healthy gums first. Restorations second. Always.
Step 2: Invisalign (If Needed)
When teeth are positioned in a way that isn’t conducive to achieving ideal proportions with veneers alone, Dr. Kriston uses Invisalign to reposition them before the restorative work begins. There are several scenarios where this applies:
The Invisalign phase can range from six weeks to a year or more, depending on the severity of the misalignment and whether we’re moving teeth to their final position or just far enough for veneers to do the rest.
Step 3: Gum Reshaping and Veneer Preparation — Same Visit
When gum reshaping is part of the makeover, Dr. Kriston performs it at the same appointment as the veneer preparation. The diode laser is so precise and leaves the tissue so sterile that there is very little inflammation and healing is remarkably fast. This means Dr. Kriston is confident the gum line will be exactly where he places it when the final veneers are seated.
Combining these two steps into one visit is an advantage for the patient — one appointment instead of two, with the gum framework and the veneer preparation done together as a single coordinated procedure.
Step 4: Whitening During Temporaries
Here’s a sequencing detail that surprises many patients: the whitening happens after the veneers are prepared, not before.
Once the teeth are prepared and temporary veneers are in place, Dr. Kriston has you begin whitening your remaining natural teeth with custom trays and professional gel. There’s a practical reason and a motivational one.
The practical reason: the biggest jump in whitening shade happens within the first three to four days. By the time you’ve been whitening for a week, Dr. Kriston has a reliable indication of your final natural tooth shade. He then gives the laboratory the final shade for the veneers, ensuring they’re color-matched to your newly whitened natural teeth for a seamless blend.
The motivational reason: once your teeth are prepared and you’re wearing temporaries, you have a sense of momentum — we’re on our way. The whitening needs to happen now, and patients are motivated to follow through consistently. It’s a small psychological detail that makes the process smoother.
Step 5: Final Veneer and Crown Placement
The laboratory fabricates the final veneers and crowns based on the approved design and the final shade. At the delivery appointment, Dr. Kriston seats each restoration, verifies the fit, the shade, the bite, and the overall aesthetics, and bonds them permanently. You walk out with your new smile.
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Anyone who wants to change their life.
That’s not an exaggeration. A smile makeover has more impact on your daily life than almost any other investment you can make. Patients frequently tell Dr. Kriston it had a bigger impact than buying a new car — because a car doesn’t change how people see you, how you feel about yourself, or how you walk into a room.
Smile makeovers often happen at inflection points in life:
That said, Dr. Kriston always has an honest conversation about expectations before beginning. If someone is placing too much hope on the makeover to change things that a smile alone can’t change, he addresses that directly. He wants every patient to have a clear, grounded understanding of what’s possible and what’s not — so the result exceeds expectations rather than falling short of unrealistic ones.
A smile makeover is not a single procedure. It’s not “just veneers.” It’s not a quick fix. And it’s not the same thing as a temporary cosmetic appliance.
It’s a planned, deliberate transformation executed with permanent restorations by a cosmetic dentist with 38 years of experience and a process that’s been refined across thousands of smiles. The materials are designed to last many years with proper maintenance. The design is prototyped and approved before the permanent work begins. And every detail — from the golden proportion analysis to the shade selection to the gum contouring — is intentional.
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What surprises Dr. Kriston most — even after 38 years — is how frequently the ripple effects of a smile makeover extend far beyond the teeth themselves.
Patients meet their life partner. Patients land a new job. Patients walk into social situations with a confidence they haven’t felt in years. Patients refer their spouse, their significant other, their friends — because the transformation is so visible and so positive that the people around them want the same thing.
It’s not the veneers doing this. It’s what the veneers unlock — the willingness to smile freely, to laugh without covering your mouth, to make eye contact and let people see you. That shift in confidence is what changes lives, and the smile is simply the key that opens the door.
It’s not uncommon for patients to say they wished they’d done it years ago. The only regret is waiting.
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By far the best dentist I’ve had! Extremely thoughtful in his work, taking time to explain the reasoning behind decisions and will even show you the details of what is going on with your teeth through a micro camera. I had a few significant issues with my teeth, and Michael was the first of four dentists I had seen to provide a thoughtful long term solution in the least invasive way possible. He is truly concerned with the health and function of your teeth and gums, and is extremely skilled to implement great solutions. Would highly recommend.
I had my first visit with Dr. Kriston and had the best experience in a dental office, by far. I was looking for a dentist to revamp my smile and a friend recommended Dr. Kriston. Dr. Kriston spent a lot of time listening to my vision and together we came up with a plan for my smile that I'm very happy with. Everyone in the office was friendly, helpful and welcoming. My bar was set high and Dr. Kriston went well above it with his knowledge, recommendations and real understanding of my situation.
The office is beautiful, modern and spotless. They have relaxing music playing throughout that right away made me feel calm. The front receptionist is very attentive and supportive; she answered all my questions and clearly explained the cost and my insurance. I qualified for an interest free payment plan and was able to afford my dream smile.
I just had to write this review because I'm so happy I found Dr. Kriston. I've been self conscious about my teeth for years and I just couldn't find a dentist I felt this good about. I highly recommend Dr. Kriston.
Clean, professional, and easy to use. Velora gave my agency the polished online presence it needed."
Clean, professional, and easy to use. Velora gave my agency the polished online presence it needed."
Clean, professional, and easy to use. Velora gave my agency the polished online presence it needed."
Clean, professional, and easy to use. Velora gave my agency the polished online presence it needed."
By far the best dentist I’ve had! Extremely thoughtful in his work, taking time to explain the reasoning behind decisions and will even show you the details of what is going on with your teeth through a micro camera. I had a few significant issues with my teeth, and Michael was the first of four dentists I had seen to provide a thoughtful long term solution in the least invasive way possible. He is truly concerned with the health and function of your teeth and gums, and is extremely skilled to implement great solutions. Would highly recommend.
I had my first visit with Dr. Kriston and had the best experience in a dental office, by far. I was looking for a dentist to revamp my smile and a friend recommended Dr. Kriston. Dr. Kriston spent a lot of time listening to my vision and together we came up with a plan for my smile that I'm very happy with. Everyone in the office was friendly, helpful and welcoming. My bar was set high and Dr. Kriston went well above it with his knowledge, recommendations and real understanding of my situation.
The office is beautiful, modern and spotless. They have relaxing music playing throughout that right away made me feel calm. The front receptionist is very attentive and supportive; she answered all my questions and clearly explained the cost and my insurance. I qualified for an interest free payment plan and was able to afford my dream smile.
I just had to write this review because I'm so happy I found Dr. Kriston. I've been self conscious about my teeth for years and I just couldn't find a dentist I felt this good about. I highly recommend Dr. Kriston.
By far the best dentist I’ve had! Extremely thoughtful in his work, taking time to explain the reasoning behind decisions and will even show you the details of what is going on with your teeth through a micro camera. I had a few significant issues with my teeth, and Michael was the first of four dentists I had seen to provide a thoughtful long term solution in the least invasive way possible. He is truly concerned with the health and function of your teeth and gums, and is extremely skilled to implement great solutions. Would highly recommend.
I had my first visit with Dr. Kriston and had the best experience in a dental office, by far. I was looking for a dentist to revamp my smile and a friend recommended Dr. Kriston. Dr. Kriston spent a lot of time listening to my vision and together we came up with a plan for my smile that I'm very happy with. Everyone in the office was friendly, helpful and welcoming. My bar was set high and Dr. Kriston went well above it with his knowledge, recommendations and real understanding of my situation.
The office is beautiful, modern and spotless. They have relaxing music playing throughout that right away made me feel calm. The front receptionist is very attentive and supportive; she answered all my questions and clearly explained the cost and my insurance. I qualified for an interest free payment plan and was able to afford my dream smile.
I just had to write this review because I'm so happy I found Dr. Kriston. I've been self conscious about my teeth for years and I just couldn't find a dentist I felt this good about. I highly recommend Dr. Kriston.
By far the best dentist I’ve had! Extremely thoughtful in his work, taking time to explain the reasoning behind decisions and will even show you the details of what is going on with your teeth through a micro camera. I had a few significant issues with my teeth, and Michael was the first of four dentists I had seen to provide a thoughtful long term solution in the least invasive way possible. He is truly concerned with the health and function of your teeth and gums, and is extremely skilled to implement great solutions. Would highly recommend.
I had my first visit with Dr. Kriston and had the best experience in a dental office, by far. I was looking for a dentist to revamp my smile and a friend recommended Dr. Kriston. Dr. Kriston spent a lot of time listening to my vision and together we came up with a plan for my smile that I'm very happy with. Everyone in the office was friendly, helpful and welcoming. My bar was set high and Dr. Kriston went well above it with his knowledge, recommendations and real understanding of my situation.
The office is beautiful, modern and spotless. They have relaxing music playing throughout that right away made me feel calm. The front receptionist is very attentive and supportive; she answered all my questions and clearly explained the cost and my insurance. I qualified for an interest free payment plan and was able to afford my dream smile.
I just had to write this review because I'm so happy I found Dr. Kriston. I've been self conscious about my teeth for years and I just couldn't find a dentist I felt this good about. I highly recommend Dr. Kriston.
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