I just purchased a snap-on smile and I’m very disappointed! I have a gap where my canine tooth should be and it REALLY bothers me so my hometown dentist recommended the snap smile but I think it’s awful. It looks so fake to me. It seems so big and bulky. everything I’ve looked up says no cash refund but that’s too much money for me not to ever wear it but it just looks fake. Should I see if my dentist can make a new mold and ask for it to be slimmer? I hate my smile I have a 2yr old son and hate taking pictures because of my gap but I don’t want our pictures to look like I’m a crazy person either. Any advice will be great, thank you.
– Heather from Missouri
Heather
I don’t know what to tell you to make this better. Most dentists aren’t very artistic, and I’m wondering if your hometown dentist is one of those. You can try to work with your dentist and see if he or she can make this better for you. That’s the best you’re going to be able to do. Don’t expect a refund.
Dentists vary greatly in their artistic sensitivity and ability to create beautiful smiles. Dentists, as a rule, go into the profession because they like to fix things. They have an engineering mentality, and they simply aren’t artistic. An excellent cosmetic dentist, such as we recommend on this website, will give you realistic expectations about the results you’ll get from a Snap-On Smile. Yes, your teeth will look larger and bulkier. That can’t be avoided because the appliance has to snap over your teeth, and in order to do that, the end result is going to be bigger teeth.
Generally, if someone is missing one or two front teeth and that is all that is wrong, my recommendation would be to get a flipper partial. This is an appliance that also just snaps into your mouth, but all it does is replace those teeth with plastic teeth – it doesn’t add anything to the other teeth. You might try asking your dentist to replace this with a flipper for no charge. If you were his first Snap-On Smile patient, which made you a guinea pig, I think that’s a reasonable request. Your dentist may have been expecting something nicer-looking, too, which made this a good learning experience for him or her.
– Dr. Hall
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About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
Dear Dr. Hall,
I’m thinking about purchasing a Snap-on Smile for esthetic reasons and to prevent, as much as possible, the loss of tooth tissue. But I had my doubts about it looking natural. So I googled “snap on smile looks fake” in order to find possible comments about this on the internet. I found this post and your helpful answer. It’s great that such a knowledgeable doctor gives (free) advice!
(This was actually quite an involved question and needs its own blog post, so I have moved the rest of the question to my post titled, Expectations way too high here for the Snap-On Smile
Dr Hall,
I am seeking your assistance in finding the person who brought out or invented the Snap-On Smile which is in the kit you make yourself from home. I have had no success so far and would like to know whom this person is and contact details for them. Given I have saved them over 150, 000 customers or potentially unsatisfied reviews or word of mouth, I feel that I’m owed this much, just their contact details please.
– Natalya Kaese
Response from Dr. Hall:
Natalya,
The Snap-On Smile was invented by a dentist that I’m pretty sure was in New York. Unfortunately, I don’t have his name. I believe it was in 2010 that the DenMat company purchased the rights for this product from the dentist and began marketing it. Hopefully that gives you some clues to track this down.
However, the Snap-On Smile I’m familiar with is not a “make-it-from-home” product. It requires an impression taken by a dentist and a prescription from the dentist, and will often require some adjustment by the dentist when it is installed in the mouth. And since DenMat owns all the rights for this product, the dentist who invented it has no more financial interest in it.
The teeth that I ordered I am very disappointed and would like a refund please send me out a return label.
– Jimmie Windham
Response from Dr. Hall:
Jimmie – thanks for validating what I have said about Snap-On Smile. Your dentist should have told you not to expect too much. Unfortunately, though, I think you are stuck with the teeth. What could your dentist do with your returned teeth, since they’re custom-made for your mouth?
It’s nothing like the ad I saw. Very disappointed.