What's bothering you,
and what can be done.

That is the normal starting point, and it is genuinely fine to arrive without a treatment in mind. Come to a consultation and describe what bothers you in your own words. Dr. Albert will examine, photograph and talk through what is actually causing it, then set out the options — including the option of doing very little. Most people leave with a clearer idea of what they need, which is frequently less than they arrived expecting.

This is the most common and most consequential question in cosmetic dentistry. If your teeth are only slightly out of line, veneers or bonding can even them out. If they are genuinely crowded or rotated, straightening first almost always gives a better result — and a more conservative one, because covering badly positioned teeth means removing more healthy tooth to make them sit flush. Aligning first, then refining with a small amount of bonding, usually delivers a more natural result than veneers alone.

Bonding is sculpted directly onto your teeth by hand in a single visit, usually with no damage to natural teeth, and it is reversible. Porcelain is made in a laboratory, needs at least two visits and a small amount of tooth preparation, but resists staining better and lasts longer. Bonding suits reshaping, chips, gaps and moderate changes. Porcelain suits severe discolouration, extensive wear, or when you want the longest-lasting result. For many people bonding is the right first step — and porcelain remains available later.

Usually, and often that is the better plan. Whitening combined with bonding, or Invisalign followed by composite, are among the most common sequences here. What matters is the order: alignment before reshaping, whitening before any bonding or veneers, gum contouring before rebuilding the tooth. Getting the sequence right is most of what a treatment plan is for.

As a general order, from least to most invasive: whitening, then composite bonding, then Invisalign, then porcelain veneers or crowns. Whitening changes nothing structurally. Bonding adds material to your teeth rather than removing any, in most cases. Invisalign moves your own teeth rather than covering them, though it often needs a very small amount of polishing between them to create space — a fraction of a millimetre, invisible once treatment is finished. Porcelain requires a small amount of tooth to be prepared, which cannot be reversed. Dr. Albert works down that list, not up it.

It depends entirely on whether teeth need to move. Composite bonding alone is typically a single appointment of two to five hours. Porcelain veneers take two to three visits across a few weeks. If Invisalign is part of the plan, most cases take four to six months before the cosmetic work begins, and fifteen to twenty-four months where the crowding or bite issue is more severe. At consultation you will be given a realistic timeline for your specific case, including whether anything can be brought forward for an event.

Only if that is what you have asked for. Every case here is designed around your face, and the style is your choice — from a natural result where people cannot quite identify what has changed, through to a brighter, bolder Hollywood finish. The teeth are designed to suit your features, age and personality rather than a standard template, which is what stops a smile reading as obviously 'done'.

Then that is what we will do. Single-tooth work is common — a chipped edge, one dark tooth, a small lateral incisor. It is also the most technically demanding cosmetic dentistry there is, because a single tooth has to match its neighbours exactly in colour, translucency and character, with nothing to hide behind. You will never be told you need ten veneers when you asked about one tooth.

It depends entirely on how much is being treated. Whitening starts from £349, composite bonding is £480 per tooth, and porcelain veneers start from £950 per tooth — so a single bonded tooth and a full-smile porcelain redesign sit at very different ends of the range. Every quote is confirmed at consultation once the plan is agreed, and 0% finance is available. Full details are on our fees page.

Some things need addressing before cosmetic work rather than instead of it — active gum disease, untreated decay, or a bite problem causing the wear. Certain skeletal issues, such as a genuinely gummy smile caused by jaw position, sit beyond what dentistry alone can change. Dr. Albert will tell you plainly if that is your situation, and where appropriate refer you on, rather than treat around a problem that will resurface.