When patients comes in to Dr. Huefner’s dental practice to have us create a new smile for them with porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns they are always a little concerned about knowing that they’ll get the kind of smile that they want, that they’ll be happy with the end result.  This is very understandable.  Obviously the patient has certain goals in mind, as does Dr. Huefner, the cosmetic dentist.  And if communication is good between all, then we will most likely all be on the same track.

Experienced cosmetic dentists, like Dr. Huefner, usually have a trick up their sleeve that enables his patients the ability to preview their new smile and actually approve of all the parameters before the final smile makeover is made with porcelain veneers and/or porcelain crowns.  It is called the “trial smile” and the subject of this post.

I’m going to take you through Mark’s cosmetic treatment and explain the process and the “trial smile” preview experience.

Mark’s smile before cosmetic dentistry by Dr. Huefner

Above you’ll see how Mark’s smile appeared when he came in for his first cosmetic dentistry consultation.  The first thing Dr. Huefner asked was “How can I help you Mark?”  Mark replied that he was in a business that required that he do a lot of public speaking and that he had become increasingly more self conscious that his appearance wasn’t keeping up with the rest of his image.  He felt that his unattractive smile might be holding him back and was ready to explore how cosmetic dentistry might be able to improve his smile.

After taking some photos of Mark’s teeth and smile and putting them up on the computer monitor for Mark to see, Dr. Huefner then asked Mark what didn’t he specifically like about his teeth, what would he like to change and what would he like his smile to look like?

Mark indicated that he didn’t like that his teeth were crooked and discolored.  He particularly didn’t care for the way his upper cuspids (canine teeth) stuck out like “fangs”.  His goals were to have straight, masculine looking teeth, whiter, but not “too white”.  He looked at a number of the before and after photos Dr Huefner showed him of other patients he had treated who has similar problems to Mark’s.  After more discussion with Dr. Huefner, Mark expressed to Dr. Huefner that he wanted a smile similar to several of the patients that he had seen.  Dr. Huefner assured him that his goals could be achieved.

Dr. Huefner explained to Mark that he would be very specific about designing his new smile and that the process involved utilizing the “trial smile“.  First, taking into account everything that Mark had mentioned, Dr. Huefner would design a smile and let him preview it first.  The shape, length, color, relative proportion of all the teeth were all things that both Mark and Dr. Huefner would need to approve of before making the final porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns.

Mark had a good question.  “What if I don’t like the trial smile?”, asked Mark.  Dr. Huefner told him that the trial smile could be modified if he didn’t like it, and that was the most important reason for using the trial smile in the design part of treatment.  If Mark wanted his teeth longer or shorter than the teeth in trial smile, Dr. Huefner could make those changes before the final porcelain veneers were made.  Likewise, if he wanted the color lighter or less light, then he could make note of that for the final porcelain veneers as well. Also, if one side was longer than the other, it could be adjusted as well.  When all adjustments were made according to Mark’s  preferences, then Dr. Huefner would take photos of Mark’s “approved trial smile“, along with models and measurements of each tooth.  Then those records would be given to Dr. Huefner’s master ceramist so that he would have a very specific guide as to how to make the final porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns according to the smile that Mark approved of.
Mark’s "trial smile" after approval. The next step was making the final porcelain veneers to match the design of the "trial smile".

Mark’s "trial smile" after approval.

Above is a photo of Mark with his “trial smile“.  Mark approved of the design, length, color and proportion and the design next goes to Dr. Huefner’s master ceramist to fabricate Mark’s porcelain veneers.

Note that Mark will be wearing his “trial smile” for two weeks.  One of the other greatest features of the “trial smile” is that the patient walks out of the office with it after the first treatment visit.  Therefore an almost instant transformation.  When the patient returns two weeks later for the final porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns to be placed, the “trial smile” is gently removed and the porcelain veneers and/or porcelain crowns are placed for the patient to inspect.  Upon approval of the final porcelain veneers and/or porcelain crowns, Dr. Huefner will then permanently bond or cement the restorations in place. 

To some dentists the extra visits and process of the “trial smile” may seem like a overkill, but not to skilled cosmetic dentists.  It is much more important to spend time in the design and approval process than having a patient not happy with their cosmetic dentistry and then wanting to have the dentistry redone and changed.

Dr. Norman Huefner, General and Cosmetic Dentistry, Laguna Niguel, CA