If you have dental problems that make you embarrassed to smile or show your teeth, talk to a cosmetic dentist about treatments that might help you. You might need a smile makeover that's a combination of different cosmetic dentistry treatments that will restore the shape, color, and health of your teeth. Your makeover is customized to you based on your unique dental health. Here's a look at some of the cosmetic dentistry treatments that could transform the appearance of your smile.

1. Dental Implants

If you have one or more missing teeth, you can have them replaced with dental implants. The implant is placed in your bone and it's topped with a crown that replaces a missing tooth. Implant crowns are usually made of porcelain if they can be seen when you smile. Porcelain looks the most like natural translucent enamel, so it's a good choice for cosmetic dentistry work.

2. Veneers

If your front teeth are healthy but are stained and can't be whitened, or they are of various lengths, veneers might be the right treatment option. Veneers are also made of porcelain, but instead of fitting over your tooth like a cap, veneers are adhered to the front of your teeth.

They're very thin, but the dentist may still need to remove some of your enamel to fit the veneers into place. Veneers whiten your smile and make your teeth the same length. They can also cover chips and close gaps between teeth.

3. Teeth Whitening

If you only need one or two veneers or implant crowns, you may want to whiten your natural teeth so your teeth and the crowns are all the same color and a few shades whiter than your old teeth. Your dentist can match the color of your old teeth if you're happy with it, but if you want to go whiter, you can have your teeth whitened when you get veneers or crowns so you have a brighter smile.

4. Fillings and Crowns

If your problem is cavities, your dentist may need to fill the cavities and put on crowns when needed. You could also need one or more root canals to treat infected teeth. If your teeth can be saved, topping them with porcelain crowns once the decay has been removed could be the best option.

If your teeth have to be removed, you might consider implants, a bridge, or partial dentures to fill the gaps in your teeth. If you need many teeth taken out, you might get dentures supported on implants so you have a new smile without the bother of dentures slipping or popping out.