THE VO SMILE Tenets
Designed for your face, not just your teeth.
Most patients come in thinking orthodontics means straight teeth. That’s the baseline. The actual goal, the VO Smile, is something more specific: a smile that fits your face, your proportions, and the way your features come together. Here’s how I think about it.
WHY IT MATTERS
Straight teeth is the floor, not the ceiling.
Two people can finish orthodontic treatment with perfectly straight teeth and have completely different smiles. One feels right. One feels off. Most people can’t articulate why.
The difference has almost nothing to do with whether the teeth are aligned. It has to do with proportion, width, symmetry, and the relationship between the teeth, the lips, the gums, and the rest of the face. These are design questions, and they have answers.
I built our clinical approach around five specific principles I evaluate in every case. We call them the VO Smile Tenets. They’re not branding. They’re the framework I use to plan treatment from your first visit to the day we take the brackets off.
THE VO SMILE
More Than Straight Teeth
Straightening teeth is the easy part. A VO Smile is designed around eight details most people never notice on their own: the width and arc of the smile, how the teeth meet the lips, the proportion and color of each tooth, and the way the gumline frames it all. Dr. Varble plans every case against these tenets, so the result fits your child’s face and looks like it was always meant to be there.
Alignment + Contacts
Teeth sit in their proper positions and meet cleanly, with no gaps or overlap. The foundation every other detail builds on.
Smile Width
A fuller, broader smile that reaches the corners of the mouth instead of leaving dark spaces on the sides.
Smile Arc
The curve of the upper teeth follows the curve of the lower lip, the natural shape of a healthy, youthful smile.
Upper Tooth Position
How much of the front teeth show at rest and in a full smile, set for a balanced, age-appropriate look.
Midlines
The line between the two front teeth lines up with the center of the face, so the smile reads as symmetrical.
Tooth Shape + Proportion
Each tooth is shaped and sized in proportion to the ones beside it, not just straightened in place.
Gum Display + Shape
An even gumline that shows the right amount and frames the teeth, rather than competing with them.
Tooth Color
The finishing touch. Brightness and shade that complete the result once everything else is in place.
THE SYSTEMS BEHIND IT
Philosophy is the start. These are how we deliver it.
Achieving the VO Smile takes more than a defined approach. It takes investing in the specific systems and tools that make these outcomes possible. Each one of these directly enables one or more of the tenets above.
Premium bracket and aligner systems
We use the Damon Ultima self-ligating bracket prescription, engineered specifically for the facial esthetics the VO Smile is built around. For clear aligner cases, we use Spark Clear Aligners, designed around each patient by Dr. Varble.
Digital planning and scanning
The iTero scanner replaces traditional impressions with a high-precision 3D scan. The scan becomes our roadmap for treatment planning and smile design from day one, and we use DentalMonitoring throughout treatment to keep your case on track between visits.
Finishing details
The finish is where the VO Smile gets its signature. We use a clinical laser for gum line refinement when indicated, perform minor tooth contouring at deband, and offer professional whitening as the final step. Small details, outsized effect.
REAL FAMILIES, REAL RESULTS
The proof is in the smiles
Ready to see what's possible?
Your free VO Smile Assessment includes a 3D scan, and a custom treatment plan from Dr. Varble. No pressure, no commitment.
