Managing Patient Expectations: IPS E.max Restorations

Once the information was provided to Burbank Dental Laboratory, the case was waxed up to an ideal contour to ensure the restoration would address all of the patient's concerns.

One of the main concerns was the large diastema that was between teeth 8 and 9. Once the desired shape was achieved, the case was pressed and then layered to match the existing dentition using the photographs and other information provided by the clinician.

The case was returned to Dr. Mitchell Rubinstein for insertion (Figure 7, shown below). This case had a great result, and most importantly, the patient was happy.  It required a team approach that consisted of the input of the patient, clinician, and laboratory. The proper plan was created and then implemented.

Proper preparation design, material selection, data gathering, and ultimately appropriate insertion techniques all played a role in achieving an excellent result.

This treatment plan was driven by listening to the patient's desires and Dr. Mitchell Rubinstein's pre-op vision.  When working on a single unit matching, it is by far the most challenging type of case and can often lead to unmet expectations for the patient. They don’t always understand the challenges that these types of cases pose for the dental team.

Managing the patient's expectations is a vital step in ensuring these cases provide patient satisfaction, and this case exceeded the patient's expectations.