Planning veneers and crowns
Smile Design in Turkey
Smile design is the planning stage before veneers or crowns: your dentist studies photos and scans of your teeth, designs a new shape and lets you try it in your mouth first. It is a process, not a material. As a result, you can see and change the plan before any tooth is prepared, and your plan is confirmed only after an in-person examination.
At a glance
- What it is
- A planning process, not a type of veneer
- Records
- Photos, intraoral scans and often video
- Preview
- A design on screen, then a trial smile in your mouth
- Drilling during the trial
- None, as the mock-up sits over your teeth
- Other treatments
- Whitening, aligners or gum care may come first
- Final plan
- Confirmed after an examination in person
Typical steps only. Your dentist confirms the records, the order of treatment and the timing after examining you.
How smile design works
Smile design starts with records rather than drilling. First, your dentist takes photos of your face and teeth, and a digital scan of your mouth. Then software helps them plan the length, width and shape of each tooth, the shade and the gum line.
Next, a laboratory or the dentist turns that design into a wax model. From it, your dentist makes a mock-up: a thin tooth-coloured layer that sits over your own teeth for a short time. So you can see, feel and talk with the new shape before you agree to anything.
The mock-up also guides treatment. Because it adds the planned shape first, your dentist can prepare through it and keep more enamel, which helps veneers bond well.
- 1
Photos, video and scans
Facial photos, close-ups of your teeth and an intraoral scan give your dentist an accurate record. Many dentists also film you talking and smiling.
- 2
Digital smile design
Software lines up your teeth with your face and lips. Your dentist then adjusts proportions, shade and the gum line with you.
- 3
Wax-up
Next, the digital smile design becomes a model of your teeth, with the new shape added in wax or printed resin.
- 4
Mock-up or trial smile
Finally, your dentist copies the wax-up onto your teeth in a temporary material, so you can judge it in the mirror and in daylight.
Who smile design may suit
Any plan for veneers or crowns on front teeth benefits from careful planning. Even so, the points below help you and your dentist decide how far to go.
Smile design may help if
A smaller plan may be wiser if
Digital smile design or conventional planning?
Both approaches aim for the same thing: a plan you can see before treatment. However, research on patient outcomes is still limited, so read the figures below as early signals rather than promises.
Your smile design journey
The order matters more than the speed. For example, whitening or aligners often come before veneers, so the final shade and position suit the plan.
- 1Online
Photos and goals
First, you share photos of your smile and explain what bothers you. A dentist then gives a provisional view of your options.
- 2Visit 1
Examination and records
In person, your dentist checks your teeth, gums and bite. Then they take photos, scans and, if needed, X-rays.
- 3Visit 1
Digital smile design and trial smile
Next, your dentist shows you the smile design and copies it onto your teeth as a mock-up. You can ask for changes before any preparation.
- 4Before veneers
Treatment that comes first
Whitening, aligners or gum treatment may come first. Gum surgery can also even out a gummy smile. For example, after whitening, dentists often wait a couple of weeks before bonding. Your dentist sets the timing.
- 5Veneer visits
Preparation guided by the smile design
Your dentist prepares through the mock-up where possible, so only the enamel the plan needs is removed. Then they fit temporaries.
- 6At home
Check-ups
Finally, see your dentist regularly, ideally close to home, to check the veneers and your gums.
Living with the result of your smile design
Shade after smile design
Veneers and crowns keep the colour your dentist chose. However, whitening only works on natural teeth, so it will not lighten them later. For this reason, many plans whiten first and match the veneers to the new shade.
Care and wear
Veneers can last many years if you look after them. Even so, they can chip, crack or come loose, so clean well and keep your check-ups.
Keeping your smile design on record
Ask for copies of your photos, scans and design. Then a dentist at home can repair or replace a veneer to the same plan.
Realistic expectations and over-treatment
A design on screen is a guide, not a promise. In fact, one review of AI-based smile design found that only 58% of patients were satisfied on average, with wide variation between studies. So the trial smile in your mouth matters more than any image.
The biggest risk is doing more than your teeth need. For example, crown preparations removed about 63% to 72% of the visible tooth in one study, compared with roughly 3% to 30% for veneers. UK dentists have also reported patients who believed they had veneers but in fact had crowns.
Therefore, the site's approach is simple: keep healthy tooth structure wherever you can, and choose the smallest treatment that meets your goal.
Software works from photos and scans, while real teeth, lips and light vary. However, a mock-up lets you judge the shape in your own mouth before any preparation.
Cutting from the existing tooth surface can remove more enamel than needed. In contrast, preparing through the mock-up helps keep more of it.
Whitening after veneers will not change their colour. In addition, one small study linked quick chairside shade checks with more early dissatisfaction, so a careful shade process helps.
Full crowns remove far more tooth than veneers, and you cannot undo it. So always ask which one your plan uses, and why.
Bleaching weakens bonding to enamel for about two weeks in lab studies. Therefore, your dentist may wait before fitting veneers.
Questions to ask about your smile design
Ask any clinic, including us, for clear written answers before you agree to a plan.
- 1Can I try the design in my mouth as a mock-up first?
- 2Will you prepare my teeth through the mock-up?
- 3Are you planning veneers or crowns, and why for each tooth?
- 4Could whitening, aligners or gum treatment reduce the drilling?
- 5Can I keep copies of my photos, scans and design?
- 6What happens if I don't like the trial smile?
Smile design: your questions
No. Smile design is the planning stage. Afterwards, the plan may use porcelain or composite veneers, crowns, whitening or no restorations at all.
Usually, yes. First you see the design on screen. Then a mock-up lets you try the shape on your own teeth, without drilling, before you decide.
Partly. Your photos let a dentist suggest options, but the plan stays provisional. The scans, the mock-up and the final plan need an examination in person.
Often, yes, because whitening does not change the colour of veneers. After whitening, your dentist usually waits before bonding, since bleaching weakens the bond for about two weeks.
Some studies found higher satisfaction with digital planning. However, the studies are few and small, so a careful dentist and a good trial smile still matter most.
Related guides
Medical review required before publication · General information only; it does not replace an examination, diagnosis or personalised treatment plan.
- Alwabel LK et al. Digital smile design and patient-centered outcomes in esthetic restorative dentistry: a systematic review (2025)
- Jain A et al. The recent use, patient satisfaction, and advancement in digital smile designing: a systematic review (2024)
- Saini RS et al. Impact of artificial intelligence-based digital smile design on patient and clinician satisfaction and facial esthetic outcomes (2025)
- Alharkan HM. Integrating digital smile design into restorative dentistry: a narrative review (2024)
- Luniyal C et al. Patient satisfaction and treatment outcomes in digital smile design vs. conventional smile design: a randomized controlled trial (2024)
- Ahmed WM et al. Mapping the landscape of the digital workflow of esthetic veneers from design to cementation: a systematic review (2024)
- Magne P, Belser UC. Novel porcelain laminate preparation approach driven by a diagnostic mock-up (2004)
- On Tse RT. Merging clear aligner therapy with digital smile design to maximize esthetics and minimize tooth reduction (2019)
- Abichandani SJ, Dutta A. Predictors of patient dissatisfaction with ceramic veneers: a matched case-control study (2026)
- Edelhoff D, Sorensen JA. Tooth structure removal associated with various preparation designs for anterior teeth (2002)
- Doughty J et al. Contemporary dental tourism: a review of reporting in the UK news media (2025)
- Savian TG et al. Vital bleaching influences the bond strength of adhesive systems to enamel and dentin: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2021)
- Oqlah MD et al. Open-flap versus minimally invasive flapless techniques in esthetic crown lengthening: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2025)
- NHS. Teeth whitening
- Oral Health Foundation. Veneers
Start your
smile design
with a plan
Send a few clear photos of your smile and tell us what you'd like to change. A dentist will then review them and explain which options look suitable, including whether whitening alone could help. Your plan stays provisional until you're examined in person.