dental mock-up
Esthetic mock-ups can actually be easily accomplished.

Helping patients see what esthetic changes might look like in their mouth - relative to their face - is a great way to help them make treatment decisions. Doing a “trial smile” or esthetic mock-up can be easily accomplished.

Mock-ups work best if additional length or facial thickness is needed for either function or esthetics. In the case where tooth structure must be removed this technique won't work.

This patient wanted slightly longer teeth and to eliminate the black triangles between her anteriors. By simply adding some wax to the incisal edges and into the embrasure a preview of the possibility can be created.

esthetic mock-up
Esthetic mock-ups take several steps.

A putty matrix is fabricated and then the incisal edges in the matrix are lined with a self-curing bisacrylic material. The matrix is inserted into the mouth until the material sets. When the matrix is removed the flash is trimmed away and the bite is adjusted. The teeth may also be spot bonded if you wish for the patient to wear the mock-up overnight. The entire chairside time can be less than 20 minutes.

esthetic mock-up
esthetic mock-up image
Esthetic mock-ups are also good for patient education.

When the patient returns evaluate incisal edge position and phonetics. When the patient approves, a model of the mock-up is made for the laboratory to create a final wax-up. The advantage, other than patient education, is that final incisal edge position will be very close and occlusion can be worked out before the wax-up is done.

Read more dental articles by Dr. Steve Ratcliff.

Steve Ratcliff, D.D.S., M.S., Spear Faculty and Contributing Author


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Comments

Commenter's Profile Image Sharon Goodwin
October 7th, 2013
Hi Steve thank you for sharing this! Do you spot etch and spot bond or just use an unfilled resin without the etch to temporarily tack them into place? Did you manage to place the bisacryl into the open embrasure? Thank you !!
Commenter's Profile Image Steve
October 8th, 2013
Hi Sharon, Yes, you can spot bond if you want the mockup to last for more than a few hours. And yes, the resin flowed into the embrasures, notice the black triangles are closed in the mockup.
Commenter's Profile Image Gerald Benjamin
October 8th, 2013
The best way to do a mock up is to do it directly in the mouth using a quality resin like Filtek Supreme Ultra , which will not slump. Mockup should be done on the consult appointment and should take approximately 10 minutes. The dentist learns the exact incisal edge position while the patient sees the benefits of treatment and gains confidence in the dentist artistic abilities. The only decision for the patient is whether they want to spend the money.