Max
Max came to see us because he was tired of the space between his two front teeth.
After a childhood bicycling accident, he lost one of his front teeth.
In the years since then, the tooth next to it had drifted into the space. Max was getting married and wanted to improve his smile. Max’s goal was not a Hollywood smile, but he did want to get rid of the space and make it less noticeable that he was missing his front tooth.
Some people want to look like they just walked off of a Hollywood movie set while others just want their teeth to “look natural.” Listening to what a patient wants is the most valuable first step in cosmetic dentistry.
The right cosmetic treatment for Max was to place a single porcelain veneer on the tooth that had drifted into the vacant spot and do some laser recontouring of his gums. This was a challenge for two reasons: #1 Matching the shade of a single front tooth can be one of the most difficult details in dentistry, and #2 We had to disguise the shape of the lateral incisor to make it look like a front tooth.
As you can see in the after photos, we achieved a great result! The color is almost a perfect match and the shape is ideal.
One benefit of today’s dentistry is that we have such a wide variety of materials to use. Pure porcelain materials without metal inside are now able to better match natural enamel and, as you can see, give a very life-like result.
Max was very pleased with his new smile and was looking forward to smiling in his wedding pictures!
