The five cosmetic treatments we provide from High Street, Preston — what each costs, who each suits, what each delivers — written by the team that quotes them daily.
Cosmetic dentistry articles usually describe treatments in the abstract; this one describes the actual menu at our High Street, Preston studio — the five treatments we quote daily, with the prices we quote them at, who each genuinely suits, and the sequencing advice we give across the desk. Consider it the consultation’s written preview, for patients from Preston, Thornbury, Northcote, Reservoir, Coburg and anywhere else in Melbourne’s north weighing a smile project.
What it is: in-chair Philips Zoom whitening (one visit, protective barriers, light-activated gel) or custom take-home trays worn over a fortnight. Who it suits: healthy teeth dulled by coffee, wine and years — the most common cosmetic complaint and the cheapest solved. What it delivers: several shades in a session, results maintained with home care. The honest caveats: restorations and internal discolouration don’t bleach, sensitivity is managed but real for some, and whitening always precedes any shade-matched work — the full comparison against supermarket kits is in our whitening guide.
What it is: tooth-coloured resin sculpted directly onto teeth — edges rebuilt, gaps closed, surfaces refreshed — in a single visit at $200–$850 per tooth (full composite veneers $400–$1,200). Who it suits: chips, small gaps, worn edges and modest reshaping on broadly straight teeth; younger patients wanting reversible improvement; budgets that stop short of porcelain. What it delivers: immediate transformation, repairable forever, no enamel commitment. The caveats: 5–7 year lifespan with re-polishing along the way, and stain pickup for heavy coffee drinkers — the porcelain trade-offs are mapped in our comparison guide.
What it is: laboratory-crafted ceramic shells for the visible smile line, designed digitally, rehearsed via trial smile, bonded permanently — $1,200–$3,000 per tooth in Melbourne. Who it suits: deep discolouration, shape and proportion changes, worn smiles wanting a designed result that lasts 10–20 years. What it delivers: the flagship transformation — stain-proof, light-handling like enamel, built to your face. The caveats: permanent preparation, grinders need night guards, and the ceramist’s craft is the real product — our nine-things guide is required pre-reading.
What it is: digital-planned clear aligner treatment — scan, ClinCheck simulation, tiered pricing from $3,500 (minor) to $9,500 (comprehensive). Who it suits: crowding, gaps, relapse after teenage braces, and any smile whose real complaint is position — which is more of them than the mirror admits. What it delivers: your own teeth, straightened — discreetly, removably, permanently with retainers. The caveats: 22-hour daily wear discipline, months not weeks, and honest case selection — complex bites still favour braces, per Invisalign vs braces. Its quiet superpower: aligning first shrinks every subsequent cosmetic bill.
What it is: not a sixth treatment but the four above (plus gum contouring and, where needed, implants) sequenced into one designed plan via Digital Smile Design — photographs, scans, an on-screen design and a wearable mock-up before anything permanent. Who it suits: smiles with multiple complaints, patients wanting the destination fixed before spending begins, and anyone burned before by piecemeal dentistry. What it delivers: modest plans from $2,000–$5,000 (whitening plus bonding) through $12,000–$25,000 mid-scale designs — each stage building toward the same approved result, staged across months or years as budget dictates, per our comprehensive smile plan guide.
You don’t — that’s the honest answer. You bring the complaint (“dull,” “chipped,” “crooked,” “all of it”) and the consultation maps it to tools, tiered from modest to complete, in writing. The patterns repeat: dull-but-straight smiles leave with whitening plans; chipped-and-dull leave with whitening-plus-bonding; genuinely crooked leave with aligner-first sequences; and “all of it” leaves with a design, a mock-up appointment, and a staged quote. Every plan includes the boring foundation clause — gums and decay treated first — and every price arrives itemised, with payment plans beside it.
The working menu: professional whitening, composite bonding, porcelain veneers, clear aligner orthodontics, and designed combinations (comprehensive smile plans) — plus gum contouring and implants where the case calls. Most smiles use two or three, sequenced.
A professional clean and whitening — hundreds, not thousands — delivering the largest visible change per dollar. Bonding follows at $200–$850 per tooth. Start cheap; upgrade only what the result still needs.
No — book directly. Bring photographs of smiles you like and your honest budget; both make the design conversation faster.
One consultation: photographs, a scan, your complaint translated into tools, and a tiered written quote. The design shows the destination before you commit a dollar.
The menu is five lines; your version of it is one visit long. Book a cosmetic consultation at The Smile Designer, High Street Preston — late weekday appointments, tiered quotes, and the cheap instruments always given first hearing.