It's a planning process, not a single procedure
Digital Smile Design isn't a treatment in itself — it's the planning stage that decides which treatments (veneers, crowns, whitening, gum reshaping) will actually be used to reach your goal, based on your face, lips, and teeth rather than a generic template.
Step 1 — Analysis of your face, not just your teeth
Photos and sometimes video of your smile, lip line, and facial proportions are taken, because the same tooth shape can look right on one face and wrong on another. This step is what separates smile design from simply picking a shade and shape off a chart.
Step 2 — 3D scanning and digital mock-up
An intraoral scan builds a 3D model of your teeth, and design software overlays a proposed new smile onto that model — this is the point where you can actually see, and discuss changes to, the plan before anything permanent happens.
Step 3 — Deciding which treatments are actually needed
From that plan, your dentist determines the mix of treatments that will achieve it: some patients need only whitening and minor reshaping, others need a full set of veneers or crowns, and some need gum recontouring first if gum levels are uneven. This is decided per tooth, not as one blanket package.
Step 4 — A physical mock-up in your mouth (in many cases)
Before permanent work begins, many clinics can show you a temporary version of the design directly on your teeth, so you can see and feel the proposed shape and length in person, not just on a screen.
Why this matters
If a clinic offers "smile design" without a digital scan or mock-up step, you're likely getting a standard cosmetic package under a trendier name — worth asking specifically what the planning process includes before you book.