Do Cosmetic Dentist Usually Make Their Own Teeth Design for Veneers or Rely on a Ceramist to Mock Up?

Wondering if a dentist does the mock up of a case himself or does he send it out for a ceramist to mock up? I'm asking because doesn't a ceramist do more studying in terms of the anatomy of a tooth and how the lines can affect lighting? Or do accredited AACD members or educated cosmetic dentist know this really well too?

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5 Doctor Answers | Asked by jamesonk in New York, NY

Doctor Answers (5)
Community Comments (1)

Teeth Design by Cosmetic Dentist and Dental Ceramist

Teeth (smile) design is best "quarterbacked" by the ccosmetic dentist in conjunction with the aesthetic needs of the patient. This is communicated with the dental ceramist who can perform a diagnostic waxup with diagnostic photos, models, and drawings provided by the cosmetic dentist. The final smile design is often done when the temporary veneers or crowns are made and refined at the chair side to best meet the aesthetic expectations of the patient.

Gerry Curatola, DDS

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Manhattan Cosmetic Dentist

Do Cosmetic Dentists Usually Make Their Own Teeth Design for Veneers or Rely on a Ceramist to Mock Up?

Mock ups, wax ups or smile designs are all part of the design phase in creating porcelain veneers. Your question about who makes the mock up is especially insightful. At the level you are inquiring about, depends more on the actual duo of cosmetic dentist and lab technician. Many dentists do not do the design themselves. The majority are done by a lab technician. The creative process really involves checks and balances at multiple different points in the creation of the veneers. An... more

MOCK-UP BY COSMETIC DENTIST OR CERAMIST

A well educated and experienced cosmetic dentist (AACD) knows the same guidelines as a well qualified Ceramist. He will typically guide the Ceramist with the particulars for the patient and then leave it to the Ceramist to do the mock-up, which can then be modified by the dentist.

Do Cosmetic Dentists Design your Smile?

The ceramist/dental lab technician will often create the initial wax mock-up for a smile based on the dentist's specified criteria. When it is done, the dentist and usually the patient will review it and make any changes desired. That will form the model from which the final porcelain will be designed to. It is a team effort between the dentist and ceramist, as well as the patient.

BETTER MOCK UP BY DENTIST OR CERAMIST?

The truth is most Cosmetic Dentists are to busy doing the "real thing" (actual veneers) to find time to sit down and do a complete mockup. It its a very tedious, time consuming and time intensive to do a complete Mockup (Ten teeth or more). A good cosmetic dentist will send a detailed prescription to the ceramist, including but not limited to length, width, portraits, closeup clinical pictures. The ceramist will do the wax mockup. The dentist may make some slight modification in the wax... more