It is said that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Your smile is the first impression you make. People begin evaluating you based on what you look like before they even get the chance to hear what you have to say.

Do you feel proud, comfortable and confident about your smile? Or do you hide your smile because of chipped, discolored, decayed or crooked teeth?

Have you ever wondered how you could improve your smile? How would it affect your overall appearance? What combination of dental procedures would it take to accomplish a smile makeover? How much would it cost?

A skilled cosmetic dentist like Dr. Loshin has the ability to "visualize" a smile makeover, considering many factors such as symmetry, form, dimension, color, brilliance, shading, textures and proportions. He can also visualize the procedures necessary to accomplish the smile transformation using resin polymers, lasers, porcelain, veneers and even surgery. But patients are not dentists. How can you "see" what the dentist, the cosmetic artist, sees so easily in his mind's eye?

Starting in the 1990's, cosmetic dentists like Dr. Loshin started using Photoshop to transform pre-op photos of patients' teeth to ideal smiles for a preview of what cosmetic dentistry could accomplish. The results were strikingly beautiful and excellent marketing tools. To this day there are many "before" and "after" photos all over the web, that are more Photoshop, than reality.

The problem is that what appears as dentistry on Photoshop may not be possible to accomplish in the real world. This sets unrealistic expectations for both the dentist and the patient. Photos are one dimensional. They cannot show the complex three dimensional relationships that define our smiles and our occlusion (our "bite"). We now have a better way, which has enabled Dr. Loshin to move beyond the unrealistic Photoshop altered photos.

Moulage (French: casting/moulding) is the art of using wax, plaster, rubber or latex to simulate mock injuries or disease states for purposes of medical training. The history of wax models is very old, dating to the sixteenth century in Florence, Italy. Dental moulage uses plaster, wax and modern acrylics to create a three dimensional model of your teeth, as well as a "wearable acrylic preview."

An impression is taken of your teeth and two duplicate models are made from this. One is saved for comparison as the pre-op state and the other is altered and molded with wax to the ideal smile and occlusion. From this idealized model an acrylic preview can be made that you can wear to preview your new smile. Sometimes the position of teeth precludes the "wearable preview." In these cases, the acrylic temporary becomes the wearable preview and can be modified to your satisfaction before the final restorations are complete. This serves as a guide for our laboratory technicians to create your perfectly natural and beautiful smile.

We want you to have as much information as possible before making the decision to proceed with a smile makeover. The dental moulage provides a new and enhanced vehicle for you to preview that new smile. We are happy to be able to provide this state of the art cosmetic dentistry.

Contact us today by calling 206.682.3093 or online