COURSE OUTLINE:
Our general dental practices are full of younger patients with minor cosmetic dental needs and desires. Recognizing these desires and offering these elective conservative treatment options can boost their confidence and boost our bottom line.
Teenagers and young adults are extremely aware of their appearances and self-esteem is often directly related to their perception of their appearance. Having a beautiful, white smile is an important part of the how they feel about themselves.
This course will look at cosmetic dental issues that are of particular concern to our teenage and young adult patients: tooth color and staining issues, post orthodontic refinement of smiles, spacing and crowding, dental trauma, tooth size discrepancies, misshapen teeth, peg laterals, congenitally missing teeth, and soft tissue considerations. Complete cases, from diagnosis, photography, material selection, and case presentation, to pre-treatment planning and then the step-by-step procedures will be discussed. We will look at whitening and microabrasion, direct composite bonding for diastema closure and finessing of post-orthodontic smiles, conservative porcelain restorations, soft tissue sculpting, and esthetic replacement of missing teeth.
We will also discuss special treatment considerations for this age group: What is the most conservative treatment we can offer while achieving the desired results? What can be done to make the treatment as easy on the patient as possible? What is the motivation for treatment? How to discuss treatment with the patient and the parents? Do we, and how do we, initiate discussions about cosmetic procedures with this age group?
OBJECTIVES:
This course:
*should help the dentist gain an awareness of conservative treatment options for teenager and young adult patients who desire enhancement to their smiles.
*will have a discussion of the motivation for these teenager and young adult patients for cosmetic procedures and a discussion on how to approach and talk about these treatments with the patients and their parents.
*gives step by step directions for completing these conservative cosmetic treatments
*reviews current adhesive systems and materials for these restorations
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
Any dentist that wishes to expand and improve their ability to diagnose, treatment plan and perform esthetically driven procedures directed towards their younger patients in a hands-on learning environment.