We saw a patient recently who did not like the shape or the color of her teeth. I discussed with her teeth whitening, teeth recontouring, gum recontouring, cosmetic porcelain veneers and the concept of a comprehensive smile design. We spent over 20 minutes in a consultation explaining her options and discussing smile design. She learned that smile design is incredibly complex and takes into consideration many factors such as skin tone, eye color, facial geometry, lip shape and position (at rest, smiling and while talking) and the patient’s teeth among other factors. We were trying to determine what smile design would best fit her face and meet her esthetic desires. Based on this patient’s specific needs, we decided porcelain veneers would be her best treatment plan.
Porcelain veneers are hand-made wafer thin veneers of porcelain that are bonded to the existing teeth modifying them to the desired color, shape and position based on the smile design. Veneers allow patients an opportunity to design a smile of their dreams which may not have been possible with their natural teeth.
After the patient and I decided on a design and plan, I explained that I will have the case designed in wax and let the patient come for a second consultation to evaluate the wax smile design before we proceed with preparing her teeth for beautiful porcelain veneers. The patient is extremely excited about her new personalized smile.
Dr. Carol F. Morgan, DDS is a Virginia Beach Dentist and had been designing smiles for cosmetic needs for over 17 years. She completes a significant amount of extra hours of continuing learning education to stay at the top of the latest products and procedures.