Refresh
Supervised whitening followed by edge bonding on two to four teeth. One to two visits over about two weeks.
From around £600
Cosmetic dentistry · Wimpole Street, Marylebone
Smile makeover in Marylebone: several treatments, one sequenced plan
A smile makeover is not a single procedure but a way of organising several. Whitening, bonding, veneers, tooth contouring, gum reshaping and sometimes a course of aligners are chosen, ordered and priced as one written plan so that each step sets up the next. The reason to plan this way rather than tackling problems one at a time is sequencing: whitening must precede any resin so shades match, alignment must precede veneers so fewer teeth need covering, and gum levels must be settled before edges are lengthened. At Wimpole Street a makeover begins with a design appointment and a trial smile, and the plan we hand you afterwards lists every element, its fee and its order. Some plans cost a few hundred pounds; others run into five figures. Both are makeovers.
- Quoted per plan
- From 1 visit to several months
- Previewed with a trial smile
Suitability
Is it right for you?
A good fit when
- More than one thing bothers you: colour and edges, or spacing and one dark tooth, for example.
- You want the result planned as a whole rather than accumulated piecemeal over years.
- Previous cosmetic work has aged unevenly and needs bringing back into harmony.
- You have finished orthodontics and want to refine shape and shade.
- A significant event is on the horizon and you want a realistic timetable to work back from.
- You would like one clear fee rather than a series of separate estimates.
Think twice, or choose another route, when
- Only one issue needs addressing; a single targeted treatment is cheaper and simpler.
- Gum disease or decay is active; the foundations are treated first, and a makeover is planned once things are stable.
- You need the whole plan finished within days and it involves porcelain or alignment, which take weeks to months.
- The expectation is a smile borrowed from a photograph of someone else; a design that ignores your face and bite tends to look wrong and wear badly.
The process
How it works at Wimpole Street
- 01
Examination and health check
Radiographs, a gum assessment and a bite check come first. Anything that would undermine cosmetic work, such as decay, inflammation or a heavy grinding habit, is diagnosed and its treatment written into the plan ahead of the aesthetic steps.
- 02
Smile design and trial smile
Photographs, measurements and a temporary in-mouth mock-up let you see and edit the proposed result before committing. The £250 fee is credited to the makeover.
- 03
Sequencing
Alignment first if teeth are to be moved, then gum contouring if levels are uneven, then whitening, and only then resin or porcelain, matched to the settled shade. Getting this order wrong is the most common reason makeovers elsewhere disappoint.
- 04
Written plan and fee
Each element is listed with its fee and expected visit count. The total is the sum of the parts; there is no separate makeover surcharge. You take it away and decide in your own time.
- 05
Treatment in stages
A whitening and bonding refresh may be finished in two visits inside a fortnight. A plan with aligners and porcelain may span six months or more, with the trial smile design guiding every stage.
- 06
Final review and protection
Once the last element is fitted we photograph the result beside the original mock-up, adjust the bite if needed and fit a night guard where grinding is a factor. Ongoing hygiene visits keep it looking as intended.
Choices
Options & materials
Composite makeover
Whitening plus composite veneers or bonding across the upper six to eight teeth, finished in a single long appointment after the design visit.
From around £1,195
Porcelain makeover
Whitening, then six to ten porcelain veneers, sometimes with gum contouring or prior alignment. Two to three visits for the ceramic alone.
From around £4,250
Fees
What it costs
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
Smile design and trial smile Credited against the makeover fee. | £250 |
Supervised home whitening Custom trays and gel, completed before any resin or ceramic. | £399 |
Composite bonding, per tooth Edge repairs and small reshaping. | From £395 |
Composite veneer, per tooth Full-surface resin veneer. | From £595 |
Porcelain veneer, per tooth Laboratory ceramic. | From £1,095 |
Tooth contouring, per tooth Minor edge refinement. | From £75 |
Clear aligners Where alignment precedes cosmetic work. | Quoted on assessment |
Indicative Wimpole Street fees, the same as at South Kensington and St Paul's. A written plan with the exact figure is agreed before anything is started.
Outcomes
What the result looks like
The change a makeover produces depends entirely on what was in the plan, but the common thread is coherence. Teeth that were individually acceptable but collectively mismatched in shade, length and edge line become a set. The most striking transformations tend to involve dark or worn teeth rebuilt in porcelain after whitening; the most satisfying, in our experience, are often the modest ones where a course of whitening and four bonded edges made a face look rested.
Every material in the plan ages at its own pace. Whitening fades over one to three years and is topped up at home. Composite dulls and needs polishing or renewal within five to seven years. Porcelain holds for ten to fifteen years or longer. A makeover is therefore a starting point for maintenance rather than a one-off.
Afterwards
Looking after the result
- Keep the top-up whitening gel in the fridge and use it for a night or two when the shade drifts, as advised at your review.
- Use a non-abrasive toothpaste and a soft brush to protect resin and porcelain surfaces.
- Wear the night guard if one was made; it is the single biggest factor in how long bonded and veneered edges last.
- Clean between teeth daily, easing floss out sideways at veneer margins.
- Attend hygiene visits every six months and ask for composite to be re-polished.
- Come in promptly if anything chips or feels rough; small repairs keep the set looking uniform.
Informed consent
Risks and honest limitations
Every treatment has trade-offs. These are the ones we discuss at the consultation so that a decision is made with full information rather than after the fact.
- The elements of a makeover age differently. Whitening fades, resin dulls and porcelain endures, so the smile will need staged maintenance over the years and that cost should be budgeted for.
- Any porcelain in the plan requires irreversible enamel preparation. Composite and whitening are reversible; ceramic is not.
- Sensitivity is common during whitening and for a period after porcelain preparation. It normally settles but occasionally a compromised tooth needs root canal treatment.
- Timelines slip when alignment or gum healing takes longer than forecast. We give ranges rather than fixed dates for that reason.
- Over-treatment is a real risk in this field. Teeth made too long, too white or too uniform look artificial and put extra load on the bite. We design within the face and will say so if a request goes beyond that.
- Results cannot be promised for any individual. Photographs of other patients show what has been achieved in different mouths, not what will happen in yours.
FAQ
Questions patients ask
It is the sum of its parts, from about £600 for whitening with a little edge bonding to £8,000 or more where eight or ten porcelain veneers are involved. The written plan itemises every element so you can see where the total comes from, and the £250 design fee is deducted.
A refresh of whitening and bonding can be complete within two weeks. Composite veneers are placed in one long visit once whitening has settled. Porcelain adds two to three weeks. Any alignment beforehand adds months.
Resin and porcelain are colour-matched at the time they are placed and do not lighten later. Whitening after the fact leaves the natural teeth brighter than the restorations.
No. The plan is a menu in a sensible order, not a package. Many patients complete the first stage and pause, or drop elements once the trial smile shows they are not needed.
Yes. The smile design appointment includes a temporary mock-up worn over your own teeth. It shows shape and length rather than final polish, and it is edited with you until it is right.
That is a design decision, and it is ours as much as yours. We match tooth proportions to the face, keep translucency at the edges and choose a shade the skin tone can carry.
The phrase usually means a full set of very white, very uniform porcelain veneers. A makeover here is whatever combination your teeth actually need, which is often less than that.
Yes. Design, whitening and the first stages can be done at South Kensington or St Paul’s now at the same fees, with later stages or reviews at Wimpole Street from 1 October 2026.
Marylebone, W1
Smile makeover at Wimpole Street from 1 October 2026
Register your interest and we will contact you as soon as the Marylebone diary is live. If you would rather start sooner, the same clinicians already see patients in South Kensington and at St Paul’s.
Opening 1 October 2026
Wimpole Street is not yet seeing patients. Until then, please book or call our South Kensington clinic on 020 7183 2362 or our St Paul's clinic on 020 7183 3709. Questions about the new clinic: wimpolestreet@md.co.uk.
Until we open
Need an appointment before 1 October 2026?
The same clinical team already works from two other Medical & Dental clinics. Book at either one now and, if you prefer, move your ongoing care to Wimpole Street once the doors open.
South Kensington
- 20 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3DL
- Open seven days a week
- 020 7183 2362
St Paul's, City of London
- 5 Ave Maria Lane, London EC4M 7AQ
- Open Monday to Friday
- 020 7183 3709
