This patient’s front teeth were worn, chipped, discolored, and spaced apart, and he was ready for a new smile. I restored eight front teeth with crowns: the four upper front teeth and the four lower front teeth. The result speaks for itself.
Step 1: Designing His Ideal Smile First
Before preparing a single tooth, I took a digital scan of his teeth and created a virtual wax-up of his ideal smile on the computer: the shape, length, and spacing of each new tooth. I can also text or email the design images to patients so they can take a look at home.
Step 2: Trying Out the New Smile
I 3D printed models of his ideal smile and made silicone matrices from my cosmetic design. Right after taking the final digital scan of his prepared teeth with my 3Shape TRIOS scanner, I used those matrices to make his temporary crowns chairside.
Because the temporaries follow the planned design, he could try out his new smile and take it home for his wife to see, while my master ceramist and I worked on his final crowns.
Step 3: Eight E.max-Fused-to-Zirconia Crowns
I restored all eight teeth with E.max-fused-to-zirconia crowns, which I use for all front teeth. A strong zirconia core is covered with E.max, a lifelike ceramic, for natural translucency and shade.
His New Smile
Technical Details for Dental Professionals
- Teeth: #7, #8, #9, #10, #23, #24, #25, #26
- Planning: study model scan and virtual wax-up before preparation; design images shared with the patient
- Temporaries: 3D-printed models of the wax-up, silicone putty matrices, and chairside temporaries in Integrity temporary crown and bridge material (with fluorescence)
- Final impression: 3Shape TRIOS digital scan
- Restorations: E.max-fused-to-zirconia crowns, made with my master ceramist
Common Questions About Smile Makeovers with Crowns
What is a smile makeover with crowns?
A smile makeover uses crowns, veneers, or other restorations to change the shape, color, size, and spacing of the teeth people see when you smile. In this case, eight crowns rebuilt the upper and lower front teeth.
Can I see my new smile before the crowns are made?
Yes. Dr. Gentry designs your ideal smile on the computer first, can text or email you the design images, and makes temporary crowns from that design so you can try your new smile before the final crowns are made.
What are E.max-fused-to-zirconia crowns?
They have a strong zirconia core with a layer of E.max, a lithium disilicate ceramic, fused over it. The zirconia gives strength, and the E.max gives the natural translucency and shade of real teeth, which is why Dr. Gentry uses them for front teeth.
Will my temporary crowns look natural?
Temporary crowns made from a planned smile design can look very natural. This patient’s temporaries were made chairside from his 3D-printed design, so he could wear his new smile right away.
Every case photo on our website and blog shows my own patient, treated and photographed by me. We never use stock photos of dental work.
Thinking about a new smile? Call Caring Dentists at 703-522-7733. We are at 1831 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, two blocks from the Court House Metro. See more of my crown cases on our Dental Crowns page.
Dr. Philip Gentry, DDS, FAGD, is a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, a Washingtonian Magazine Top Dentist Hall of Fame honoree, and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. He has practiced crown and bridge, restorative, reconstructive, and cosmetic dentistry in Arlington, VA since 1989.
