What is Dental Fluorosis?
Dental fluorosis is the look of faint whitish lines stripes on the teeth that appear when children take excessive fluoride over extended periods when teeth are growing under the soft tissue.
Technically, it is not a disease. But, on the contrary, Dental Fluorosis might make patients' teeth more prone to cavities.
The patient's chief concern was his front teeth were affected by fluorosis. He told me that he had had cosmetic issues with his front teeth since he was a kid. Also, he had a cross-bite on one of his lateral incisors. As a result, he wanted me to cover all his front teeth with dental veneers, including the lower ones. Before the initial digital assessment phase, I told him that his lower teeth should not be included. I think lower teeth's fluorosis wasn't that obvious. As a Doctor, I don't like to prep or touch any tooth that does not drastically affect the outcome of my treatment.
I obtained the digital documentation for his Smile Design. However, I don't want to misguide my patients. Therefore, I'm not particularly eager to provide any treatment plans before thoroughly assessing my patients' smiles on the computer. Instead, I preferred to evaluate everything, and after constructing the ideal smile design, I wanted to see my smile prototype (Mockup) on the patient's face.
(If you want to have detailed information about Smile Design Process or Digital Smile Design, please click on the links.)
Although, after the digital planning of the case, I still thought reconstructing the upper would be more than enough to resolve his issues, I provided
a mockup of lower and upper teeth in the treatment plan presentation phase because that was what my patient requested. After presenting his treatment plan, I tried to convince him to start with the upper teeth and wait to decide about the lower teeth. I planned to provide nine porcelain veneers and one crown (for resolving the cross-bite) on the upper teeth. After changing the upper teeth, I thought that most of the patient's concerns would disappear and we would not need to touch the lower teeth. He accepted my offer. He wanted to wait for upper restorations to decide what to do for lower teeth.
I prepped his teeth for Dental Veneers and a crown. Then, in a couple of weeks, we provided an ideal and perfect smile for the patient's needs with try-in sessions. Finally, I finalized the treatment with the consent of the patient. He was so delighted with the result, and I don't think he will need any treatment on the lower teeth.
From my point of view, neither cosmetic treatments are an urgency, nor are they a need. It is a luxury! On the other hand, cosmetic dental treatments require excellent team communication, patience and an artistic eye. So this kind of high-end result requires time and attention. The patients tend to rush their decision-making process. However, I always tell my patient's that my treatments end when both the patient and I are happy.
To achieve the goal of both white teeth and a natural look, we used round teeth morphology in his smile design. For surface characteristics, we applied natural teeth development grooves and surface features. Because getting a natural look with veneers requires "Copying nature." We make these decisions with the patient by showing them possibilities, previous cases and near-perfect natural teeth morphologies. What makes nature beautiful is the uniqueness of the imperfection and its harmony.
Perfectionism is the key to success in Cosmetic Dentistry. As dentists, we can see things the patients can easily miss. As dentists, our goal is to ensure that everything is according to the patients' desires.
If you want to start your Smile Design journey, you can book an appointment with Dr.Johnson Ozgur by either calling our clinic or by filling out our contact form. One of our team members in Toronto Smile Design - Yorkville Dental will call you as soon as possible.
