Cosmetic dentistry is all about technology and techniques, right? To a degree, this is true. Like in any business, expertise and professionalism is the one thing we should take for granted. However, there is one thing that will make all the difference in the world. It is called “communication.”
How do you communicate your goals and desires? How do you ensure that the dentist understands what you are truly looking for? Does he listen to what you have to say?
Cosmetic Dentistry is elective. It is supposed to fulfill certain desires regarding the way we want to look. Every face is different. And while we can tell our dentist that we want to look "naturally beautiful," "Hollywood-like," or that we just want to undo the signs of aging or have a smile like Eva Mendes or Brad Pitt, it is by no means certain that we will get what we are dreaming of.
Cosmetic dental procedures, such as porcelain veneers, are expensive. We therefore should ensure that our expectations are realistic, and on the other hand, that our expectations are entirely duplicated so that we can rest assured that our dentist will apply all his expertise (which we should take for granted, right?) to obtain the optimum result towards our expectations in context to the face that nature has given us. This is all we can ask for.
So, what would be the first step in communicating to a dentist your aesthetic goals? All the images about the beautiful smiles of actors and actresses that we find on the internet or in magazines could be rather confusing. How do we know which smile would be realistic for our dental condition and in context of our face. It would make sense to bring a picture of a younger age, possibly decades earlier, that displays your youthful teeth as nature had created them for you. Those young teeth of yours once fitted perfectly into your face and smile. Nature created it that way. May be you needed some orthodontic treatment to correct some misalignments of your teeth, but it is likely that the size and shapes of your teeth we generally in harmony with the size and shape of your face.
We would then look at images of people, famous or not, such as friends and family, who you have envied for all these years. This is a very simple approach, but an experienced cosmetic dentist, who is an expert in his field should easily be able to relate your desires into the field of technologies and techniques as they are available today to give you the optimum result for your situation. Absolutes are unattainable, but with proper communication we should be able to establish a smile that is both beautiful and natural, which makes other people envy our good relationship to mother nature.