Have you ever logged onto a new car website and created several different mockups of your potential new purchase using the clever tools within? Did you know that you can apply a similar type of approach when you visit your dentist's office, to see what your new and restored smile should look like? What's the technique involved?
Painting the Picture
Due to the technology available today your dentist is not just able to explain what your new smile should look like in verbal terms, but is also able to create what is known as a "provisional restoration" to actually show you. As a patient, you will often have a picture in your mind's eye of what your new smile ought to look like, but there is almost certain to be a difference in between what you dream of and what is achievable. That's not to say that you won't be happy with the end result, but that you will now be able to see what the end result will look like before the work goes ahead.
In the dental industry, provisional restorations are also known as "temporaries." In many cases, they can be made while you wait in the dentist's office and after you have explained to the expert what you would like to achieve.
Forming Tools
A number of premade "shells" and different materials are available to the dentist in order to help them make the temporaries. These shells include partially made or preformed plastic crowns that are available in different sizes and can be adjusted accordingly. These acrylic shells can be complemented by various other forming materials to come up with a good mockup. You will be able to have a look at the potential outcome at each stage of the provisional restoration and can give your input to the dentist as you go along.
Making It Real
Once you are both happy with the temporaries, the dentist will then take a number of different impressions, together with relevant close-up photography. All of that data can then be sent off to the lab as a blueprint, so a dental technician can start working on the permanent pieces of the restoration. You will also be able to agree with your dentist about the shade and colour of the teeth. Many people choose something that appears to be perfectly natural according to the age and the colour of their skin and it's possible to very precisely apply this specification to the final outcome.
Going for a Drive
So, why not take your new teeth for a test drive by making an appointment with your dentist as soon as possible?
