Do you want the pearls or the pearly whites?

Here’s an interesting story. A family dental practice in California is offering a contest for Sacramento area mothers where the winning prize is a cosmetic dentistry makeover.

“Project Smile Again Sacramento-Mother’s Day” is a pro-bono program offered by PURE Dentistry, along with the help of Frontier Dental Laboratories that will offer a lucky mom a chance to have her smile revitalized through all the best cosmetic dentistry practices available.

But why should only Moms get cosmetic dentistry procedures for a gift?

When asked how he came up with the idea, Dr. Slade of Pure Dentistry said, ““A healthy smile radiates openness, confidence and joy. Without that ability, people tend to feel shame and have lower self esteem. At PURE Dentistry, we have chosen to celebrate Mother’s Day in our way by allowing the community to be involved in selecting one great mom for the makeover of a lifetime.”

Sounds like a great way to celebrate for a lot of people. Women regularly get spa certificates for beauty treatments such as massages, manicures, or makeovers for holidays, birthdays, as well as Mother’s Day.  In fact there are several occasions where cosmetic dentistry might actually be a more welcome present. Procedures like teeth whitening and tooth bleaching would be just as rejuvenating for someone’s looks as a facial. How many brides would prefer a pearly white smile in their wedding pictures rather than another silky négligée or pedicure voucher at their bridal shower?  And if you have chipped or crooked teeth and you are graduating from college, wouldn’t you love to get dental bonding or veneers to help straighten out your smile before you have to go on job interviews?

So why don’t more cosmetic dentistry services get purchased for gifts? It might be because people are worried about how to give them without being offensive (Hint – “Your teeth are stained and chipped – here you go” is probably not the way to do it.) Maybe the thing to do is let it be known that you would love to have something done. If we all start asking for cosmetic dentistry gift certificates in our Easter baskets and stocking stuffers …then suddenly the stigma goes away! As certain procedures become part of normal beauty regimens (see Botox Is Like Brushing Your Teeth), we see an uptick in the number of women and men asking for them. Enter a world of cosmetic dentistry procedures as gifts!

What do you think? Would you give someone Cosmetic Dentistry as a gift? Would you want if for yourself?

And remember, if you’re looking for a cosmetic dentist in New York, take a look at all of the services we offer in this area.