Hollywood smile: what it means and what your quote adds up to

"Hollywood smile" is a marketing phrase, not the name of a single dental treatment. Clinics use it for a cosmetic change to the visible teeth, often a full row of veneers or crowns, sometimes combined with whitening. Two clinics offering a Hollywood smile may be describing quite different plans. One may mean eight porcelain veneers on the upper teeth, another twenty crowns on both arches. Before you compare prices, find out exactly what is planned for each tooth.

Veneers are thin coverings fixed to the front of a tooth. Crowns cover the whole tooth. Both usually involve shaping the natural tooth, and the Oral Health Foundation warns that heavy filing for crowns or veneers causes permanent damage. The number of teeth to be treated is a clinical decision that you make together with your dentist. Ask whether every tooth on the plan really needs treatment to reach the look you want, and whether less invasive options, such as whitening or orthodontics, could help instead.

A quote should list every tooth, the type of restoration and the material. If it only shows a package price, ask for a breakdown. The calculator needs a price per tooth and the number of teeth, plus one-off costs such as consultations, a trial smile and temporaries. With those figures you can see where most of the money goes and compare plans fairly. We do not use average prices, because a figure based on someone else's plan would not fit yours.

Use the second quote to test different versions of your own plan. For example, compare a plan for the teeth that show when you smile with a plan that covers more teeth. You can also compare two materials. If your dentist gives you an expected lifespan, the calculator shows a rough cost per year. Remember that any restoration may need repairing or replacing later, and that cost would come on top of the figures you see today.

Many people who search for a Hollywood smile are comparing a UK practice with a clinic in Turkey. If you do, look at more than the treatment price. The NHS treatment abroad checklist says you cannot get reimbursement for dental treatment abroad. The same checklist advises telling your insurer about your plans and allowing for the cost of return trips. Our Turkey teeth cost calculator adds flights, hotels, transfers and repeat trips to the quote.

The General Dental Council recommends talking to your own dentist before travelling for treatment. It suggests asking who will carry out the work, what their qualifications are, whether the work is guaranteed, what aftercare is provided and who pays if corrective work is needed. Get aftercare arrangements in writing before you go. If you feel pressured to decide on the day, the GDC says you do not have to commit to anything.