Ready To Go Maskless? 7 Steps to Prepare Your Smile for Post-Pandemic Life

Wearing a mask was the public protocol throughout much of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently – and sadly for some – smiles disappeared from view.

But with vaccinations available and most social restrictions ending, many people are happily ditching their masks and rediscovering the power of giving and seeing a smile. This public reemergence from the mask is a good time to personalize and improve the smile, says Gary Michels, DDS, author of New Smile, New You! Creating a Happier, Healthier You with Cosmetic Dentistry! 

“COVID put us all in a dim light,” Dr. Michels says, “and now people want to shed their masks and brighten our world with our smiles.

“But many have been uncomfortable with their teeth all their lives, so their smile has never been what it could be. Or they’ve hidden their smiles because they were ashamed of them. A new smile can change how you feel about yourself and change your life.”

He says a smile should be inviting and distinctive.

“It needs to fit your face, hair and complexion,” Dr. Michels says. “A personalized smile makes you look like the best version of yourself. In cosmetic dentistry, creating a beautiful smile involves performing several precise and technical steps to achieve the final result.”

Dr. Michels says there are seven phases in the process to personalize one’s smile:

• Gathering information. The dentist goes through four steps with the patient: discussion, to find out what the patient wants in a smile; review of medical history; clinical examination and X-rays; and creation of study models after taking impressions. “Issues such as impacted teeth, gum disease, decay or bone loss must be addressed before cosmetic treatment,” Dr. Michels says.
• Creating a laboratory sculpture. Three steps are involved in generating a three-dimensional sculpture on which a new smile is based, Dr. Michels says: reviewing notes from the consultation; reviewing photographs; and studying the model. “It’s essentially a sculpture made of wax, or a virtual model, of what your teeth will look like at the end of treatment,” he says.
• Initial teeth preparation. With the patient under sedation, the dentist follows the diagnostic models and shapes the teeth to a predefined goal. “If the gums need work, this is accomplished months in advance, so they can heal before cosmetic procedures begin,” Dr. Michels says.
• Refining temporaries. Dr. Michels says temporaries can serve as a trial run in creating a new smile. “Artistic, custom temporaries can provide a window into what a new smile can look like,” he says. “Temporaries are formed chairside using the molds from the laboratory sculpture. The dentist refines the size, shape and position of each tooth, and further refines the smile while looking at the whole smile and face together.”
• Evaluating. This is a milestone phase and an important check-in point, Dr. Michels says. The dentist and staff interact with the patient to evaluate the temporaries. Once everyone is on board, impressions or a scan of the temporaries is taken to send to the laboratory.
• Celebrating. “This is the appointment when everything fits – the restorations, the patient’s reaction to the new look, and the reaction of those who are close to the patient,” Dr. Michels says. “The restorations are temporarily placed in the patient’s mouth for the unveiling. When we are all satisfied, we permanently secure the new smile in the patient’s mouth.”
• Reevaluating and refinement contouring. A few weeks after final restorations are cemented, cosmetic patients return for touch-ups and refinements. “Those tiny corrections may be subtle,” Dr. Michels says, “but they are often the difference between having just a nice smile and a dazzling yet naturally-looking one.”

“One of the best things about COVID subsiding is that more people are returning to their dentist for routine preventative care,” Dr. Michels says. “And after many months of masking, more people are putting a premium on the state of their smile.”

Dr. Gary Michels is the author of New Smile, New You! Creating a Happier, Healthier You with Cosmetic Dentistry! He has been practicing dentistry for 40 years, combining his scientific knowledge with an artist’s touch to create beautiful smiles at his state-of-the-art practice in Greenville, N.C. He graduated second in his class from Emory University Dental School and trained with masters including Dr. Ronald Goldstein, who is considered the founder of modern cosmetic dentistry, and New York City’s “Dentist to the Stars” Larry Rosenthal. Dr. Michels has served as an adjunct professor, lecturer to dental societies, founder of a postgraduate dental learning center, and mentor to countless young dentists. He is also co-founder of the Dream Factory of North Carolina, a charity for seriously ill children.