Cosmetic dentistry at Deepcar Dental Care

Cosmetic Dentistry: Veneers, Smile Makeovers and Aesthetic Treatment

Cosmetic dentistry covers treatments that change how your teeth look: whitening, composite bonding, porcelain veneers and gum contouring. This page maps each option against how much natural tooth it preserves, how reversible it is and how long it lasts, then routes you to the section that covers your treatment in full. Deepcar Dental Care is a fully private practice in Deepcar, open seven days a week.

Reviewed by Dr Ibraheem Ijaz, GDC 301711

This page provides general information about cosmetic dental treatment and is not a substitute for individual clinical assessment.

Book a consultation with our cosmetic dentists, or call 0114 288 2121.

Book a consultation Call 0114 288 2121

Four routes

whitening, composite bonding, porcelain veneers and gum contouring

A trial smile first

a mock-up placed in your own mouth before any irreversible step

UK laboratory work

no overseas laboratory work is used here

Seven days

open 08:00 to 20:00, free parking outside, no waiting lists

What cosmetic dentistry covers

Cosmetic dentistry is the branch of dental care concerned with the appearance of teeth and gums rather than with disease or function alone. In practice the boundary is soft, because a chipped front tooth is both an appearance problem and a structural one.

The discipline groups into four things you can change. Colour is changed by whitening. Shape and small gaps are changed by adding composite resin directly to the tooth. Shape, colour and surface are changed together by bonding a lab-made porcelain veneer to the front of the tooth. The gum line itself is changed by gum contouring. It is carried out here for cosmetic reasons rather than referred elsewhere. Where teeth need moving rather than resurfacing, clear aligners are an option.

A smile makeover is not a fifth treatment. It is the name given to a plan that combines several of the above in a deliberate order. The aim we work to is a result nobody can identify as dentistry.

Cosmetic treatment sits outside NHS funding. Whitening is not available on the NHS at all, and veneers are generally private unless a clinical need can be shown. Deepcar Dental Care is a fully private practice.

Cosmetic treatments at a glance

Deepcar offers teeth whitening, composite bonding, porcelain veneers and gum contouring, and they differ most in how much natural tooth they remove.

Treatment	What it changes	What it will not change	Natural tooth removed	Reversible	Maintenance
Teeth whitening	Colour of natural teeth	Shape, position, or the colour of fillings, crowns, veneers and dentures	None	Self-reversing, the effect decays and the tooth is unchanged	The NHS notes the effect may last around three years where the dentist’s advice is followed, then a top-up
Composite bonding	Shape, small gaps, chips	Tooth position, and significant crowding is addressed with alignment first	Usually none, confirmed case by case	Yes, the resin can usually be adjusted or taken off	Repairable and replaceable, with fracture and shade change the usual reasons
Porcelain veneers	Shape, colour, surface	Tooth position, and significant crowding is addressed with alignment first	Enamel is usually removed to make space	No, enamel does not grow back	NHS patient information describes a replacement cycle of roughly ten years
Gum contouring	The gum line	The teeth themselves	Gum tissue, sometimes bone	No, tissue is removed	Depends on the underlying cause

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Composite bonding and teeth whitening each have their own section on this site.

Not sure which of the four applies to you? The assessment settles it, and nothing is decided in a single visit.

Book a consultation

Reversible and irreversible treatment

Cosmetic dentistry divides cleanly into treatments you can walk back from and treatments you cannot. That division matters more than cost when you are choosing.

Whitening and bonding are additive or temporary. Whitening lightens what is already there and fades over time. Bonding adds material to the tooth surface and can usually be adjusted, repaired or taken off.

Veneers are different. The NHS is clear that fitting some veneers involves drilling away a little of the front of the tooth, though not all veneers require this. The Oral Health Foundation describes the same first step, with a small amount of enamel taken so the veneer does not sit bulky against the neighbouring teeth. Where enamel has been removed it does not grow back, so the tooth will normally need a covering of some kind from then on.

None of this makes veneers the wrong choice. It makes them a choice worth arriving at deliberately rather than by default, particularly when bonding could achieve a similar result on a tooth that is otherwise sound.

Where a tooth is already heavily damaged, the question moves out of cosmetic territory and into repairing and rebuilding damaged teeth.

How we work

How we plan a smile

Cosmetic dentistry planning at Deepcar starts with health, not with appearance. Active decay and gum disease are treated before aesthetic work is planned, because placing appearance work over untreated disease may worsen the problem underneath.

The sequence then follows the materials. Whitening only lightens natural tooth structure; it will not change the colour of existing fillings, veneers or crowns. So the final shade is agreed before shape work begins, and restorations that no longer match may need replacing afterwards. Whitening beforehand is optional rather than required.

Where a smile makeover combines several of these treatments, the order follows the same logic: health first, alignment where crowding is the underlying problem, then shade, then shape. How long a full makeover takes depends entirely on the case, so we will not quote a timescale before assessing you.

Planning is carried out by our cosmetic dentists and runs through a fixed set of steps.

Clinical photographs and shade

Photographs are taken and shade is recorded under corrected lighting.

Scan and digital design

The teeth are scanned with an intraoral scanner and the proposed design is built using digital smile design software, currently exocad.

Laboratory wax-up

A wax-up is produced before anything is placed in the mouth.

Trial smile

A mock-up is placed in the mouth so you can judge the shape before anything is bonded.

Written plan and a second consultation

A written plan is given before anything starts, and a second consultation is offered before you commit.

The consultation starts with what you want to change, not with what we would like to do. You should expect the clinical findings, every option that applies including doing nothing, the trade-offs of each, and a written estimate before anything begins. You will not be pushed towards any of them.

If dental appointments are difficult for you, say so when you book. Longer appointment slots, quiet appointment times, an agreed stop signal and a first visit where nothing is done except talking are all available.

How we handle evidence and outcomes

Cosmetic dentistry results are easy to advertise and hard to evidence, so this page carries no galleries, case studies or success figures.

We do not publish images of other patients’ teeth. What you get instead is specific to you: a trial smile in your own mouth before any irreversible step, a written plan, and a second consultation before you commit.

Who is suitable for cosmetic dentistry?

Cosmetic dentistry suits people whose teeth and gums are healthy, or can be made healthy first. Suitability is decided at assessment, not from a photograph.

Some conditions narrow the options rather than closing them. Grinding and clenching may make porcelain a poorer choice and push the decision towards materials that can be repaired. Teeth with little remaining enamel may not hold a bonded veneer well. Existing crowns, dentures and implants will not respond to whitening at all, which changes what a whitening-led plan can achieve.

Whitening carries its own limits

Not carried out on anyone aged 17 or under
Not carried out where teeth and gums are not healthy
Not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding
Recognised side effects: sensitivity to cold or sweet food, sore gums or throat, and temporary white patches on the gums

Fees

How much does cosmetic dentistry cost?

Cosmetic dentistry is private treatment and is priced per case, so the figures below are starting points rather than quotes.

Composite bondingfrom 300 pounds per tooth

Home whitening350 pounds

Enlighten whitening550 pounds

New patient examination including X-rays90 pounds

Porcelain veneersconfirmed in writing after assessment

Veneer pricing depends on the number of teeth and the material, and is confirmed in writing after assessment.

What moves a case within these ranges is the number of teeth involved, the condition of the tooth underneath, and whether preparatory treatment is needed first. A final fee is confirmed only after examination, and a written plan is provided before treatment begins.

Most of what you are paying for is planning time, materials and laboratory work rather than chair time. The laboratory work is done in the UK. No overseas laboratory work is used here.

Costs can be spread. Payment options are set out at finance and payment options.

Find us

Where our cosmetic patients come from

Cosmetic dentistry patients reach the practice from across the local corridor and the wider city. Patients travel to us from Stocksbridge, Oughtibridge, Chapeltown, High Green, Wharncliffe Side, Hillsborough and Sheffield.

Free parkingdirectly outside

Ground floorwheelchair accessible

Seven days08:00 to 20:00

No waiting listsfor private appointments

The practical draw is access. There is free parking directly outside, the practice is on the ground floor and wheelchair accessible, it is open seven days a week from 08:00 to 20:00, and there are no waiting lists for private appointments.

Before you book

Frequently asked questions

Is cosmetic dentistry available on the NHS?

Generally no. Teeth whitening is not available on the NHS in any circumstances, and veneers are usually private unless a clinical need can be demonstrated. NHS dentistry funds treatment that maintains oral health and function. Deepcar Dental Care is a fully private practice.

Do I have to whiten my teeth before bonding?

No. Whitening beforehand is optional rather than required, and plenty of people go straight to bonding. It is worth considering first because whitening only lightens natural teeth, so bonding matched to your current shade will stay that shade if you whiten later. Your dentist will talk through both routes.

Can veneers be taken off later?

Not in the way people usually mean. Where enamel has been removed to fit the veneer, that enamel does not grow back, so the tooth will normally need a covering from then on. A veneer can be replaced, but the tooth underneath cannot be restored to how it was. It is worth deciding slowly. There is no rush from us.

Who is legally allowed to whiten teeth in the UK?

Only dental professionals registered with the General Dental Council. The High Court confirmed in 2013 that tooth whitening is the practice of dentistry, so beauty salons and untrained providers are acting unlawfully. Other registered dental professionals may carry out whitening on a dentist’s prescription.

How long does composite bonding last?

There is no fixed lifespan. Research on anterior composite restorations reports annual failure rates from 0 to 4.1 per cent, with fracture and shade change the usual reasons for replacement rather than decay. Bonding is repairable, so a chip is often refreshed rather than replaced wholesale.

Can I see what the result will look like first?

Yes, in your own mouth. After the scan and digital design, a laboratory wax-up is used to place a trial smile or mock-up on your teeth before any irreversible step. A second consultation is offered before you commit, so nothing is decided in a single visit.

Next step

Easier to choose well with the tooth in front of you

Cosmetic treatment is easier to choose well with the tooth in front of you. Book an assessment at Deepcar Dental Care, or call and talk it through first.

Book an assessment Call 0114 288 2121