How Teeth Trends Are Transforming Patient Preferences and Care

Is your dental practice doing enough to stay current with the ever-evolving world of teeth trends? If not, you might be missing out on a golden opportunity.

Social media is among the top trends impacting the dental industry. Celebrities and influencers routinely show off their picture-perfect smiles on Instagram, TikTok, and other social media platforms. This has led to a surge in requests for comprehensive smile makeovers, and your dental practice should be prepared to provide complete smile makeover services to patients.

The demand for aesthetic dentistry, driven by the desire for the perfect smile, is transforming patient preferences and dental care. Below, learn about all the increasingly popular new trends affecting the dental industry and how you can gain an edge by incorporating them into your practice.

Trending Innovations in Cosmetic Dentistry

The average person takes almost 500 selfies each year. When they do, they often realize they don’t have the radiant or confident smile they want. Cosmetic dentists should keep an eye on the latest cosmetic dentistry trends to cater to these people.

Clear Aligners and Invisible Braces

Modern braces have existed for centuries, but they’ve become more popular among teenagers and adults in recent years. About four million Americans have braces at any given moment, with about 25% of them being adults.

Some people still use metal braces to straighten their natural teeth and enjoy a new smile. However, clear aligners and invisible braces are gaining popularity.

Here are the benefits of a dental patient choosing clear aligners or invisible braces:

• More patient comfort
• Less painful patient experience
• Better final result

People also appreciate that they can smile without others noticing clear aligners or invisible braces. This is especially enticing for older cosmetic dentistry patients, who can undergo complete smile makeovers without feeling self-conscious whenever they smile while using Invisalign or another option.

Teeth Whitening Innovations

Crooked natural teeth can negatively impact a person’s perception of their smile, but this is just one of the many issues people notice when they look at their teeth. Surveys have shown that up to 80% of American adults wish their teeth were whiter.

As part of your dental practice’s push to provide more cosmetic dentistry services, make sure you incorporate the latest teeth whitening methods while figuring out how to improve a patient’s smile. Many new teeth whitening products and in-office treatments are available, including teeth whitening gel options made using sensitivity-free formulas and eco-friendly practices.

Use cosmetic dentistry techniques like LED whitening gel to help patients achieve the perfect smile and a more youthful appearance. This cutting-edge technology could be the key to improving a patient’s smile and boosting oral health.

Tech-Driven Teeth Trends

Technology has made it possible for cosmetic dentists to do pretty incredible things to people’s teeth. Let’s take a look at several of the top tech-driven teeth trends.

3D Printing for Restorative Dentistry

If a person doesn’t have the perfect natural tooth structure, clear aligners and invisible braces might work wonders. But what about if they’re missing natural teeth or have misshapen teeth dragging down their smile?

These days, cosmetic dentistry involves using 3D printing for restorative dentistry. Your dental practice can use 3D printing to create:

• Crowns
• Dentures
• Implants

3D printing has made it simple for cosmetic dentistry professionals to quickly produce crowns, dentures, and implants. This makes the entire process more seamless and enables patients to recreate their natural tooth structure more precisely.

AI and Virtual Consultations

Artificial intelligence has started to make a big splash in many industries throughout the U.S. — and the dental industry is no different. Dentists are beginning to use AI at a rapid rate, as many AI-based diagnostic tools can help them diagnose dental issues more effectively.

Many dentists have also begun extending teledentistry services to accommodate a wider range of patient needs. This practice started during the COVID-19 pandemic when about 25% of dental practices offered teledentistry services, but their enduring value remains clear to an increasing number of practitioners. You might consider using them to make dental care more accessible and convenient.

Health-Centric Teeth Trends

An Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality study discovered that more Americans are seeing doctors and dentists each year than they did 20 years ago. It showed that only about 102 million Americans saw doctors and dentists annually back in 2003. That number is over 120 million today.

Generally speaking, Americans have become more health conscious, leading to an uptick in health-centric teeth trends. They aren’t only investing in cosmetic dentistry services to improve facial aesthetics anymore but also for the good of their overall health.

Natural and Biodegradable Oral Health Care Products

Recent dental data reveals that the bamboo toothbrush market has grown exponentially and is expected to grow even more in the coming years. Why? Well, the companies that manufacture these toothbrushes employ eco-friendly practices that make them better for the environment than plastic toothbrushes.

Sustainability has become a hot topic within the cosmetic dentistry industry. More people are choosing to spend their hard-earned money on oral health products, such as toothbrushes, floss, etc., produced using eco-friendly practices.

Anti-Aging Dental Procedures

Many Americans, including a sizable portion of aging Americans, actively look for ways to slow down the aging process. One study found that over one-third of Americans between the ages of 50 and 80 spend time and money trying to look younger.

Some use plastic surgery to achieve better facial symmetry and a more youthful appearance, while others turn to the latest anti-aging dental procedures.

Veneers are popular among those trying to look younger by taking advantage of new cosmetic dentistry trends. Gum contouring is also a great option for those wishing to look younger while providing themselves with new smile makeovers.

Cultural Influence on Teeth Trends

More than three-fourths of Americans say a person’s smile is the key to making a positive first impression on others. They report that a confident smile can make a person more trustworthy and approachable.

This illustrates the immense importance people place on their smiles in the U.S. and highlights how effective cosmetic dentistry services, like comprehensive smile makeovers and teeth whitening, can be in changing how others perceive a person.

Celebrity Influence on Dental Aesthetics

In 2023, the Washington Post published a trend piece on how celebrities’ teeth are starting to look a little “too perfect.” The newspaper concluded that these celebrities have driven many cosmetic dentistry trends in recent years.

At the very least, a new celebrity will often undergo a dramatic physical transformation after first coming onto the scene by getting a brand-new smile. They won’t always stop there, either, as there has been a rise in even crazier teeth trends among celebrities. Some have started to go with gold or diamond-studded teeth, while others have added tooth gems to the mix.

Increasing awareness of the top trends within this vibrant world has led to more regular people requesting outlandish cosmetic dentistry services.

The Social Media Effect on Dental Aesthetics

Social media has greatly impacted people’s lives in many ways. For example, it has sent people searching for the right cosmetic dentistry services to achieve the perfect smile. Smile makeovers and teeth whitening are often used to improve facial aesthetics.

Social media has also allowed people to discover new teeth trends that might not exist without platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and others. This includes trends like DIY whitening kits and snap-on veneers that have come and gone.

To be a successful dentist, you need to know about more than just your cosmetic dentistry services. You should also monitor the newest cosmetic dentistry trends and seek to provide accurate information on them to patients.

How Dental Practices Can Keep Up With Teeth Trends

Keeping up with teeth trends is easier said than done. Dentists are usually too busy performing smile makeovers and other services to ensure these trends are on their radars.

Still, you shouldn’t let that stop you from keeping tabs on the top dental trends. Monitoring the internet for new trends is every bit as important to your practice’s success as providing complete smile makeover services.

Investing in Modern Technology

Staying on top of the latest teeth trends requires you to invest more than time. You’ll also need to purchase the cutting-edge technology it will take to meet your patients’ demands.

Here are several types of modern dental technology that you should have access to within your office:

• 3D printers
• Intraoral scanners
• Advanced teeth whitening systems

See some of the best examples of new dental technology and begin investing in it.

Communication and Patient Engagement Tools

In addition to investing in the technological tools you’ll need to create the perfect digital smile design for a patient, you should also invest in communication and patient engagement tools. Improve the communication between your employees and patients with Weave’s all-in-one platform.

This platform can help your cosmetic dentistry practice with:

• Online scheduling
• Appointment reminders
• Payment processing

Weave assists you in making your mark within the dental industry with these tools.

Embrace the Future of Dentistry With the Right Tools

The thing about teeth trends is that they’re almost always changing. This may present challenges for your practice as you strive to provide every patient who comes through your front door with a radiant smile.

Get to know about the top trends impacting the dental industry, and explore Weave’s solutions, like phones, appointment reminders, and billing systems, to integrate them into your practice seamlessly. Get a demo of Weave’s platform to see how it can streamline communication, patient management, and overall practice efficiency in line with current trends.