There is no operation called a Hollywood smile. It is a description of a result — very white, very even, usually across the teeth that show when you smile — and the treatments used to reach it range from something entirely reversible to something that permanently alters twenty healthy teeth. The phrase hides that range, which is exactly why it is used.

Usually means
8–20 veneers or crowns across the visible teeth
Veneer
A facing on the front of the tooth. Conservative preparation
Crown
Covers the whole tooth. Substantially more tooth removed
Reversible
No. Prepared enamel does not grow back

The question that actually matters

Not "veneers or crowns", and not which ceramic. The question is how much of your own tooth is being removed, and whether it needed to be.

A veneer is a thin facing bonded to the front surface. Depending on the case, the preparation can be minimal — in some situations almost none at all. A crown encircles the tooth, and preparing for one means reducing it on every surface. That is a large, permanent change to a healthy tooth, and once done, that tooth needs a crown for the rest of your life. If the crown fails in fifteen years, it is replaced, not reversed.

Why shade is chosen before anything is made

Ceramic does not whiten. Once a shade is chosen and the work is made, that is the colour permanently — and the natural teeth around it will continue to change with age, coffee and tobacco. Whitening is therefore done first, and the restorations are matched to the whitened result rather than the other way round.

The same logic applies to choosing a shade far brighter than any natural tooth. It photographs well and it is immediately identifiable as dental work in person, particularly against the lower teeth if those are not being treated.

What to establish before agreeing

  • How many teeth, and whether each one is being veneered or crowned.
  • Why that choice for each tooth — the clinical reason, not the aesthetic one.
  • Whether any tooth needs root canal treatment as part of the plan, and why.
  • Whether you will see a trial — a mock-up or temporaries — before the final work is made.
  • The shade, agreed in daylight against your own face, not on a screen.

The trial is the most valuable item on that list. A mock-up lets you see the proposed shape and length on your own face before anything irreversible happens, and a practice that does not offer one is asking you to approve a result you have not seen.

How long do veneers and crowns last?

Both have good long-term data when well made and well maintained. What usually ends them is not the ceramic but decay at the margin, gum recession, or an untreated grinding habit.

Will my teeth be filed to points?

The images that circulate showing sharpened stumps are crown preparations, not veneer preparations, and they are what a tooth looks like mid-treatment. It is a fair thing to ask to see: request photographs of the preparation stage, not only of finished results.

Can it be undone if I do not like it?

No. Restorations can be replaced but the removed tooth structure cannot be restored. This is the single strongest argument for a trial before anything is prepared.

Do I need root canals for veneers?

Not routinely. Root canal treatment is indicated when a nerve is diseased or a preparation has exposed it. A plan that includes root canals on many healthy teeth is a plan to question closely.