It all started when a patient came to our clinic for the first time with a little trouble – her veneer had broken off, which we safely fixed at the first visit. But during a detailed conversation it turned out that everything is not so simple. It turned out that the patient was not particularly happy with the appearance of the veneers on the upper jaw, the problem with the chipped veneer happens quite regularly, and the lower teeth were noticeably worn off, and had acquired a persistent yellowish color.
Therefore, the patient wanted to solve the problem at City Smile Clinic in a comprehensive way, which we were happy to help her with, despite one detail that made the process very complicated: the patient is a permanent resident of the USA and she will be returning home soon. She will be able to come to Ukraine for treatment in six months, but only for a few weeks.
A big challenge, and to begin with, you need to calculate how realistic it is to guarantee you’ll be able to get everything done in time.
At the first consultation, we performed a computerized tomography (CT) scan to identify all problem areas. Based on the images, a detailed step-by-step rehabilitation plan was developed and a detailed treatment cost was calculated. Due to the uncertainty of the condition of the teeth under the crowns and veneers, some manipulations were labeled as possible changes to the plan.
It turns out that the task of fitting all the necessary procedures into a two-week period does not look particularly realistic and we are only willing to guarantee great results if we have a month to do all the work.
The patient agreed that for the sake of quality, beautiful and durable results, she would be willing to stay in Ukraine for a month on her next visit, promising to give us a month’s notice of her arrival. And so, the call came: “I will be with you in a month”. It’s time to get ready for serious work and immediately plan all the visits to specialists that we will definitely need.
In the first stage, the prosthodontist removed the old ceramic structures and took impressions for wax modeling of the future shape of the teeth. Although some of the teeth were significantly damaged, to the patient’s relief and joy, it turned out that all the teeth could be saved and there were no candidates for extraction.
Sometimes, of course, teeth have to be extracted, unfortunately it is not always possible to do without this procedure, but the opportunity to save your natural teeth is priceless and we make every effort to save the patient’s teeth
Then, as always in such cases, it was time to sanitize the oral cavity: professional hygiene, treatment of cavities, treatment and re-treatment of root canals, replacement of old crowns (only temporary crowns so far).
We already had a clear plan of action and organized visits to all the necessary specialists: endodontist, therapist, hygienist, and orthopedist in such a way that we did not waste any time at all and met the overall tight deadlines.
Upon completion of these works we had 3 weeks left for the veneers – we have to make it in time, the return tickets have already been bought and we can’t let him down.
While the preparatory stages were underway, the wax modeling arrived from the lab and the orthopedist began the preparation – preparing the teeth for veneers and permanent crowns.
Wax modeling is the process of creating an accurate model of future dental restorations out of wax. This model helps to visualize the final result of treatment and correct the shape, size, and position of the teeth prior to fabrication. Wax modeling allows dentists and patients to evaluate the aesthetic appearance and functional performance of future veneers, providing an accurate and predictable dental restoration.
Now we have to wait for the permanent structures to be ready. The patient has time to rest from the procedure, and we have a ticking clock. But there’s no way to avoid this moment, we took the time for the veneers into account when planning. So we are on schedule.
During the fitting process, the patient can already fully appreciate the appearance of the constructs and the sensation of them in the mouth. If there are no remarks during the fitting process, then the prosthesis is immediately fixed and this is almost the final stage of treatment.
But comments and revisions are not uncommon. Sometimes you don’t like something, you need to change some nuances. And this time, some minor aesthetic aspects still needed correction – the shade of the teeth, when the structures were in the mouth, did not look exactly as the patient had imagined it in the process of choosing the color.
The problem isn’t too big or complicated, but we’re pressed for time – we have to make it. We call the lab, arrange for our order to be put in first. Oh, that’s great.
Choosing the color of veneers is an extremely important moment. It is quite a common problem when the patient slightly “misses” when choosing the color. And such a mistake leads to the fact that in the mouth of the construction looks insufficiently natural. Therefore, when installing veneers should be extremely careful about the choice of color, do not rush, assess how the color looks not on the color scale with samples, but in the mouth. To do this, do not be lazy to put the sample to your teeth, look at it under different lighting and make a correct, balanced and well-considered decision, which will save you both time and money
The corrected veneers fit perfectly. It looks amazing. The client is happy, of course we are too. We are fixing a permanent design, and even have time to spare. That’s great – it’s definitely not a waste. We still need to check the functionality, and for that the patient needs to live with the structure for at least a few days, listen to her feelings and come to us
According to the patient’s impressions, the construction “fit” as if it were her own. We checked the occlusion (contact between the teeth of the upper and lower jaw when they are clamped together) and all functional parameters of the dentoalveolar system. Everything is also perfect. The patient is now safe from tooth grinding and permanent chipping of veneers. All, we can exhale – the job is done, and done perfectly.
Everything is standard – a check-up, professional cleaning and, of course, the obligatory photo protocol. It is thanks to it that you can look at your smile before and after treatment and evaluate all the changes that have taken place. Changes for the better.
And, as always, we conclude with a nice moment – a photo of a happy patient with a charming smile and with a bouquet of roses from us.
There are still a whole 4 days until we leave, we made it all!
But we hope to see the happy owner of a new smile at the preventive checkup when she next comes to Ukraine
The work was quite extensive, but we managed to do it in a little less than a month. Let’s briefly list all the stages of work and describe the manipulations performed:
