It's All In The Planning
Written by Andrew Sedler / October 20, 2025
The age of AI Overviews, citations, and social media has increased the speed and scope of our ability to express our satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the organizations with which we engage. This is true in dentistry when it comes to meeting our patients’ aesthetic demands.
Patients often are driven by their desired esthetic outcomes and do not have a clear understanding of the possible limitations. Clinicians are challenged to manage the patient’s desired esthetic expectations and the functional structural limitations that each case may present. One of the best tools available when working out a treatment plan is creating a prototype or provisional restoration.
Provisionals help to provide an intermediate solution for the patient while the final restorations are being fabricated. However, they also provide an opportunity to gauge exactly the patient’s esthetic expectations. Provisionals can be made to determine the desired shape, color, function, and tissue response.
In addition, provisionals uncover any occlusal issues. The knowledge gained from the evaluation of the provisional restorations can then be communicated to the lab to incorporate into the final product.
A provisional is used to temporarily hold a spot both vertically and horizontally while a permanent tooth is being fabricated. This helps prevent tooth movement and restores the patient to normal function. Also, provisionals help prevent bacterial exposure of the natural tooth’s surface by protecting the exposed dentin.
Fabricating the provisional begins with determining the patient’s desires and concerns as clearly as possible. This is done by thoroughly understanding what the patient wants.
This step can be accomplished by having the patient bring in pictures of smiles they find attractive and looking through dental smile design guides. There are a variety of quick chairside smile mock-up products that can help to pinpoint the desired outcome more accurately, as well as computer imaging to provide a digital mock-up.
Once an understanding has been reached, a wax-up is created to incorporate the patient’s desired outcome with their actual oral situation.
To begin this process, Burbank Dental Lab requires the following:
Once the case has been set up either traditionally or digitally, the design process can begin.
A visual rendering of the patient’s desired outcome is created either by hand-processed wax-up or digital mock-up.
From these mock-ups, DuraTemp provisionals can be fabricated in the lab, or a matrix can be created for use chairside.
Now the patient can try the smile before the actual permanent restorations are made.
The accuracy of temporary restorations is an essential factor in ensuring the patient has a positive experience throughout the restorative procedure.
The clear benefits of using DuraTemp provisionals include:
DuraTemp provisional restorations serve as prototypes of the final restorations. The patient should wear their provisionals for several days to ensure they are satisfied and happy with the design.
There are some cases where the provisionals are tried in and the case is accepted at the same time; however, this is not always advised. This is especially true when changes are proposed to the vertical dimension.
When the VDO is changed, the patient should wear the prototype to determine how well they will tolerate the new VDO. The temporaries will provide a test run of not only the VDO but the occlusion and new mandibular positioning to help determine if the patient will be comfortable with new restorations.
DuraTemp provisionals help to eliminate any surprises that may arise at the final insertion of the permanent restorations. Both the clinician and patient will already have a clear idea of the final outcome, both in terms of esthetics and function. When a provisional is not provided, the patient may not have a clear understanding of what the final restorations will look or feel like. This can significantly affect the patient’s overall satisfaction. It is also one of the biggest reasons for making adjustments or even remakes.
With the provisionals, any adjustments can be made either directly to the provisionals or noted for incorporation into the final restorations. It is essential to take pictures of the approved provisionals in the mouth and to send a model of the temps in place to the lab. The approved provisionals can now serve as a blueprint for the dental lab to fabricate the final restorations.
Creating systems within the dental practice to help ensure patients are satisfied with their dental treatments is increasingly essential in the age of social media messaging. DuraTemps by Burbank Dental Lab enables the creation of a high-level prototype of a patient’s esthetic desires and oral structural possibilities. It gives the clinician and patient a tool to communicate the opportunities and to have them approved before treatment begins.
Contact the Smiles by Design Team at Burbank Dental Lab to get started on your next case.
We Appreciate You Sharing This Product
Previous Post: 
Burbank Dental Lab has three new state-of-the-art Carbon M2 printers. We are very excited about the options that these cutting-edge printers will allow us to offer our dental clients. Here are some of the advantages that these printers will begin to deliver to you and your dental practice.
Carbon offers a highly dependable 3D manufacturing solution for many dental applications with its breakthrough Digital Light Synthesis™ technology, enabled by a wide range of dental materials.
Burbank Dental Lab has the next generation of Carbon DLS™. Meet our new Carbon M3 and M3 Max printers. These advanced printers enhance fabrication possibilities using Digital Light Synthesis™ technology, enabling us to provide quality and innovation for our clients.
The M3 printer is the cutting edge of DLS printing with a true 4K light engine. We save time and improve quality with Automated Print Ppreparation which ensures high-quality assurance and results.
