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cosmetic dentistry - beauty & science

20 I I patient communication _ diagnostic mock-up Fig. 1_Pre-op photograph of patient’s smile (Case I). Fig. 2_Pre-op intra-oral view (Case I). Fig. 3_Diagnostic wax-up (Case I). Fig. 4_Confection of a silicone putty matrix. Fig. 5_Provisional material is placed into the silicone matrix impression. cosmeticdentistry 3_2012 _Success in aesthetic dentistry relies largely on the ability to understand clearly the patient's chief complaint and expectations in seeking dental treatment to correct an aesthetic concern and to address them as fully as possible. Patients are increasingly demanding and may have ex- pectations that exceed what can be achieved in reality. Moreover, aesthetics, being subjective, maynotbebasedonthesamecriteriaforboththe patient and the dentist. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that before any elective aesthetic treatment patients be enabled to visualise the projected result with its limitations to help them understand what canrealisticallybeachieved.Involvingthepatient in the decision-making process will yield invalu- able information, leading to a mutually satisfying result. Communication of the proposed restorative outcome between the patient and the dentist is essential, yet challenging. Levine1 reports that one of the most common causes of failure in aes- thetic dental treatment does not result from a technical issue but from a miscommunication between the dentist and the patient. There are various communication and diagnostic tools to Enhancement of aesthetic treatment planning and communication using a diagnostic mock-up Authors_Drs Laurie St-Pierre, Canada, & Deborah S. Cobb, USA Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 1 Fig. 2