Contouring alone
Purely subtractive: edges smoothed, points rounded, lengths evened. Quick and inexpensive.
From £75 per tooth
Cosmetic dentistry · Wimpole Street, Marylebone
Tooth contouring in Marylebone: tiny adjustments with a large visual effect
Tooth contouring, or enameloplasty, is the removal of a fraction of a millimetre of enamel with fine diamond instruments and polishing discs to smooth a jagged edge, soften a point or bring one tooth into line with its neighbour. It is the quietest treatment in cosmetic dentistry: no laboratory, no anaesthetic in most cases, no resin, and a total of perhaps a quarter of a millimetre taken from anywhere. Yet because the eye is drawn to irregularity in an otherwise even row of teeth, rounding a single sharp corner or shortening one long edge can change how a smile reads more than its scale suggests. At Wimpole Street contouring is priced from £75 per tooth, is often finished in under half an hour and is frequently combined with a touch of bonding where a tooth needs adding to as well as taking away.
- From £75 per tooth
- One visit, 15–45 minutes
- No anaesthetic in most cases
Suitability
Is it right for you?
A good fit when
- Small chips or jagged edges on front teeth where the missing piece is too small to be worth bonding.
- One tooth that sits fractionally longer than its pair or has a pointed corner.
- Mamelons, the scalloped bumps on incisal edges that sometimes persist into adulthood.
- Slight overlap where the corner of one incisor sits over another and a hair’s breadth of reshaping frees it.
- Minor unevenness after orthodontic treatment, once the teeth have settled.
- Refining the edges of teeth that have been bonded or veneered so the whole row reads as one line.
Think twice, or choose another route, when
- Teeth that are already short or worn; contouring removes enamel, and worn teeth need adding to, not subtracting from.
- Thin enamel or existing sensitivity, since removing more enamel can make cold hurt.
- Crowding or rotation beyond a millimetre or so; the correction needed exceeds what can safely be polished away.
- Large chips or gaps, which are bonding or veneer territory.
- Any tooth with a crack, a large filling or active decay in the area.
The process
How it works at Wimpole Street
- 01
Assessment and marking
We look at the teeth with you in a mirror and agree exactly which edges or corners to adjust, marking them with a pencil. A radiograph or a look at enamel thickness confirms there is room to remove a little without approaching dentine.
- 02
Reshaping
Using fine diamond burs, sandpaper discs and abrasive strips, enamel is taken away in tiny increments, checking the shape frequently. The amount removed from any one spot is usually 0.2 to 0.5 mm. There is a gentle vibration but no pain, so anaesthetic is rarely needed.
- 03
Bite and symmetry check
We ask you to close together and slide from side to side to make sure nothing now catches, then compare left and right for balance.
- 04
Polish and fluoride
The adjusted surfaces are polished through several grades so they are as smooth and glossy as the untouched enamel around them. A fluoride varnish is applied to help the freshly exposed surface remineralise.
- 05
Bonding, if planned
Where a corner needs building as well as smoothing, composite is added in the same visit so the result is balanced rather than simply shorter.
Choices
Options & materials
Contouring with bonding
Subtract where a tooth is long and add where one is short, giving an even edge line without shortening everything to the lowest point.
From £75 per tooth plus bonding from £395
Post-orthodontic refinement
Small adjustments to edges and corners once aligners or braces have finished, so the straightened teeth also look even.
From £200 for several teeth
Fees
What it costs
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
Tooth contouring, per tooth Reshaping, polishing and fluoride varnish. | From £75 |
Contouring across several front teeth Typically two to six teeth in one short visit. | From £200 |
Composite bonding added to contoured tooth Where a tooth needs building as well as smoothing. | From £395 |
New patient examination Introductory rate; the usual fee is £95. | £30 |
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 is subtle by design. A sharp corner becomes rounded, a slightly long incisor lines up with its partner, a jagged chip disappears into a smooth curve. Because nothing has been added, the teeth look and feel entirely like your own, only tidier, and there is nothing to stain, chip or replace later. Patients often describe it as the thing they had wanted for years without knowing it had a name.
The result is stable in the sense that enamel does not grow back and the polished surface stays smooth. Whether the smile remains even depends on wear and on whether the habit that caused the original irregularity, such as grinding or nail-biting, continues.
Afterwards
Looking after the result
- Expect no downtime; eat and drink normally straight away.
- If the teeth feel briefly sensitive to cold, use a sensitivity toothpaste for a week or two; this is uncommon and short-lived.
- Avoid nail-biting, pen-chewing and using the front teeth on packaging, which is what created many of the chips in the first place.
- Wear a night guard if you grind, or the edges will slowly become uneven again.
- Keep up six-monthly hygiene visits; ask for the polished edges to be checked at each one.
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.
- Enamel removal is irreversible. The amounts are very small, but they cannot be replaced except with resin, so we are conservative and would rather stop short than take too much.
- Sensitivity to cold can follow if enamel was thin to begin with. It usually fades within weeks; rarely it persists and needs a fluoride or bonding treatment.
- There is a limit to what can be achieved. Contouring cannot straighten crooked teeth, close gaps or lengthen anything. Over-contouring to chase symmetry leaves teeth short and square.
- Teeth that are made shorter may expose a fractionally different edge translucency, which can look slightly different in strong light until polishing settles it.
- If the underlying cause of the irregularity, usually grinding, is not addressed, the edges will wear uneven again over time.
FAQ
Questions patients ask
Almost never. Only enamel is touched, and enamel has no nerve supply. You feel vibration and hear the instrument, but anaesthetic is rarely needed. If enamel is thin we may apply a numbing gel as a precaution.
Typically 0.2 to 0.5 mm from the specific edge or corner being adjusted, and often less. The total across a whole smile is usually well under a millimetre in any one place.
Not at these amounts, provided enamel thickness is checked beforehand and the surface is polished and treated with fluoride afterwards. We decline to contour teeth where the enamel is already thin.
A single tooth takes five to ten minutes. Adjusting several front teeth, including the polish and checks, usually takes 15 to 45 minutes.
Only the appearance of very mild irregularity. Anything more needs the teeth to be moved with aligners or braces. Contouring is often useful after orthodontics to finish the edges.
Interproximal reduction for aligners removes a sliver of enamel between teeth to make space. Cosmetic contouring works on the visible edges and corners. Both are small, controlled enamel adjustments, but for different purposes.
Yes. The same dentists offer it at South Kensington and St Paul’s now at the same fee, and any follow-up polish can be done at Wimpole Street from 1 October 2026.
Keep reading
Related treatments and guides
Marylebone, W1
Tooth contouring 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
