Teeth too perfect for 1883, but look great for 2023

Q: How do you make veneers or crowns look natural?

A: I was watching the prequal to Yellowstone, “1881” and realized immediately the actor’s teeth are way to perfect and white for that time in history. Actors Faith Hill and Tim McGraw are sporting 20 porcelain veneers per mouth. I don’t understand why the make-up people did not do their magic like they did on the other actors to make the teeth appear stained, crooked or missing. I felt this dental anachronistic faux pas took away from the realism of the program. If I had to guess, I bet their agents told the producers their clients are entertainers in the music industry and refused to have them appear too “ratchet or unkempt”. Not cool for sex symbols maybe? Any who….

Just because you saw a friend or some lady at Whole Foods with fake looking teeth, does not mean you have to look like that.

Here is what we do to create natural looking veneers and crowns:

• Empress-Ivoclar brand porcelain for translucency and intentional irregularities called flutes and lobes, which break up the light to mimic real tooth enamel.
• Pre-op 3D iTero digital impression scans, (Not the goop!) to generate models of your new smile before the permanent work is made.
• Digitizing photos of select smiles from magazines or old pictures of yourself. The lab will use this as a guide to shape your work.
• Artistic shaping of the temporaries and the final porcelain work to create a natural look, with intentional imperfections.
• Have the significant other come to the temporary evaluation appointment to have some input in the final shade and shape. MAKE SURE YOU ARE 90% HAPPY WITH THE TEMPORARY VENEERS BEFORE MOVING AHEAD WITH THE PERMENANT ONES. A picture and mold of the temporary work will be sent to the lab to use as a guide for the final design.
• Don’t forget to treat the lowers too! They show when speaking.
• Our philosophy is to make you look better, healthier and younger; not to change who you are (and then have to change your name and move you to rural Iowa with a new job working in the local hardware and feed store).

Check out the veneer gallery page on our website to view awesome before and after pictures.