Jim was not proud of his smile. He travels frequently on business and wanted a smile that would make a good first impression.
Jim came to Adler Cosmetic & Family Dentistry in Boulder for a consultation. After discussing treatment options with Dr. Michael Adler, Jim decided to first have restorations placed on his upper teeth to improve the look of his smile. Jim’s frequent business travel also meant that his treatment would need to be scheduled efficiently around his extended time away.
Jim’s treatment began with Zoom Whitening to lighten all his teeth so that his lower teeth would better match the new restorations. All of Jim’s tissue was carefully isolated to make sure it was not exposed to the whitening solution or the light. Once the tissue was fully isolated, the Zoom whitening gel was applied to the teeth and then activated with the Zoom light for 15 minutes. This process was repeated four times to produce the best results. Afterwards Jim’s teeth were dramatically whiter.
Dr. Adler and Jim decided that eight restorations would be placed on his upper anterior teeth. They wanted to make sure that when he smiled that people would only see his great smile. Eight restorations were chosen so that when Jim smiled the restorations would go back as far as his smile and there wouldn’t be any awkward area visible between where his restorations were and his natural teeth started. Because Jim has a deep bite, his lower teeth are not visible when he smiles which was part of the reason he decided to defer having his lower teeth restored.
The eight upper anterior teeth were prepared for all porcelain restorations. Existing decay was removed and the teeth were shaped for the restorations. A shade of the underlying tooth color was taken so that the lab could take that into account when designing the shade of the restorations. Our lab uses multiple shades in each restoration to ensure that teeth look as natural as possible. A darker shade is chosen for around the gum line and then the color gradually lightens toward the tip of the tooth. The end of the restoration has some translucency to mimic the natural look of a tooth. Lower quality crowns look unnatural because they are a single shade and are not translucent, and as a result look dark and flat in color.
After Jim’s the teeth were prepped for the restorations, impressions were taken so they could be sent to the lab for custom fabrication. Temporaries were then placed. The temporaries are not as good looking as the final restorations but they come pretty close and already look better than the originals.
Once the final restorations were returned from the lab, Jim came to our office to have them seated. The temporaries were removed and his teeth were cleaned with an antimicrobial solution to disinfect them. His teeth and restorations were etched to ensure a strong bond. A bonding liquid was then placed along with the cement to chemically bond the restorations to the teeth. Once cemented his bite was checked. Any excess cement was removed and the restorations were polished.
The final result was a great smile and some good looking teeth. Jim now has the lasting smile he was looking for and will make a great first impression.