Aesthetic dentistry is not just making teeth white. So often the hesitation that I hear from our patients when we begin discussing their smile is that they don’t want their teeth to look fake. While sadly I see people walking around with that as the result of getting veneers, that should never be your expectation and our process here at Hopkins Dental Health ensures that you will get a beautiful, esthetic, and natural result. In this three part series I wanted to dive a little deeper into what that process is.
I say this all the time, we have to start with the end in mind. As important as a blueprint is to building a house, we have to know what we want to create before we touch a single tooth. The foundation of this plan though is the ‘why’, which is truly my favorite part of the journey that my patients and I get to go on. Finding out what your goals are. What is the most important thing that you want to accomplish? And dream big because in all honesty, we aren’t just fixing teeth, and making them look better. We’re delivering vitality, health, and with that, confidence and pride.
Records are of course needed with any project. When creating a smile we need to survey what your teeth currently look like. How well do they function? Are they worn down, chipped, or too small? Are there spaces between the teeth that we wish to close? Has there been a lot of dentistry done in the past? How dark are they? How healthy is the joint? Does the patient clench or grind their teeth? Etc, etc.
The beauty of modern dentistry is that these records are so much easier than they used to be. We no longer are taking messy impressions and pouring up stone models of your teeth. Everything is digital. From scanning your teeth, designing the smile, to 3D printing the models and guides, esthetic dentistry and digital technology compliment one another in incredible ways. Although frictionless, taking these records and gathering this information isn’t what ensures a successful and beautiful result. It’s putting it all together. The ‘why’ and the ‘what’ become the ‘how’. We spend a tremendous amount of time evaluating the records, talking directly to our exceptional ceramist (lab technician), and revisiting the goals of the patient to create this comprehensive plan. In the second part of this series we’ll dive a little further into the how, and debunk a couple more myths that give patients hesitation along the way.
Until then I look forward to seeing you in our office and would love to discuss this further with you if you’d like. It’s truly the best part of what I do and a passion of our entire team.
Thank you all so much,
Mitch
