Patients
The Role of a Dental Lab
Dental Laboratories are an integral part of the patient’s dental team. Based on a licensed dentist’s prescription, the dental lab and its technicians prepare dental prostheses (replacements for natural teeth; crowns, dentures, veneers, etc.) to help people who have lost some or all of their teeth. Dental technicians utilize finely-tuned skills when using sophisticated instruments and technology to create tooth replacements.
While ‘technical’ in nature, from the dentists and patients viewpoint, dental restorations are all about enhancing people’s ability to improve their smile, ability to eat, chew, and talk comfortably, all in a way that replicates or even improves on their previous condition.
So while a patient may not know very much about dental labs, or which lab their dentist is using, clear communication with the patient is often the difference between superior vs. lacklustre results.
Have a Say in Your Restoration
Schell Dental Ceramics is not only focused on our dentists, we are also dedicated to our dentist’s patients. With this in mind we have created a space on our site where patients can learn more about their dental work. Communication in restoration becomes much smoother with a little information. Below you will find write-ups on topics at the forefront of most patient’s minds, and what to expect when you visit your dentist for restoration work.
When you visit the dentist, you may feel confused by the terminology for your treatment; that’s why we believe that communication is an important key to a happy result. For this reason we pride ourselves on maintaining clear communication. Your dentist will talk with you first about options and procedures. From here, the restoration type and plan that has been agreed upon is passed on to us in the form of a prescription.
If at any time we feel a product, service, or treatment should be done differently, or if we are unsure of the dentist’s request, we will always contact your dentist who will then work with you to ensure the result is exactly what you want.
At the end of the day, your opinion and happiness in the final result is the core of our business and the goal of our practice.
Customize Your Smile
Dental Art & Tooth Tattoos
Though not common, restoration art does play a role in our lab. The combination of technology and craftsmanship at Schell Dental Ceramics allows us to create custom dental restorations with art of your choice.
For many years now, we have been able to add colours to restorations in various designs. These restoration “tattoos” don’t involve the use of ink in any way and in fact use standard dental materials like porcelain and stains to draw pictures on a tooth. For some designs we are even able to mill the design into the restoration, then layer into that and polish it back to a sparkling finish.
We have done simple designs like numbers or letters, along with more detailed work like animals and words. There are also the more extreme multi-unit bridges that have been stained to make a flag or team colours.
Schell is always there to go the extra mile and bring a smile to our clients.