I often get asked, “what facial enhancement should I do first?”. More specifically, should I get BOTOX®, Juviderm or Resatylane before or after I correct my smile? In almost all cases, I tell my patients to focus on their smile correction first; and then augment their smile with dermatologic and facial enhancements.
The reason? When crafting a smile correction using porcelain veneers to ‘fix’ teeth, I am evaluating the natural balance of the smile to my patient’s face. Most people have a dominant side and a weak side; and most people have an upper jaw that is not completely horizontal. It is usually angled. When rehabilitating a smile, I am looking at your natural face to rebalance the smile. More specifically,
- Porcelain veneers can be angled to correct an angled jawbone to eliminate the “crooked smile” look, or
- Porcelain veneers can be more prominent on one side of your smile to balance facial muscle dominance or disproportion.
After getting your smile in balance with your facial features, giving you a more refreshed and youthful appearance, you should then pursue further facial enhancements to build and highlight the balance you have just restored. Remember, my motto is balance and symmetry is beauty.
