Have you ever heard of a mock-up?

Many patients are not satisfied with the esthetic appearance of their smile, and would like to improve it: a prosthetic rehabilitation with veneers and crowns can solve this problem and give back the patient not only a harmonious smile, but also a more confident attitude.

Some people, however, are frightened by the idea of undergoing a “definitive” treatment: partly because they don’t feel sure about what their aspect will be like at the end of the treatment, partly because of its irreversibility. It is not uncommon for them to think: “what if I don’t like myself?”.

There is a solution, and it is called mock-up.

In cases in which it is necessary to increase dental volume, for example in those patients presenting severely worn dentition, mock-up is an ideal solution seeing as it allows to preview the final result of the prosthetic rehabilitation directly in the mouth of the patient while being a completely reversible operation, considering no tooth preparation is necessary.

To prepare a mock-up or a prosthetic rehabilitation, some preliminary steps involving the work of both dentist and dental technician are nonetheless necessary.

The dentist begins with an esthetic analysis of the patient’s situation, by filling in an esthetic checklist with a collection of parameters and measurements of teeth, face and smile, which provides the technician with all the necessary information for the fabrication of the prosthesis. This initial process can also be performed digitally thanks to GETApp, an Application created and developed by Dr. Fradeani himself and his team.

Following the indications given by the dentist, the dental lab will then prepare a wax-up of the work according to the clinician’s and the patient’s suggestions, with the aim of reaching an ideal result from the dental impressions of the patient.

Once the wax-up - replicating al the esthetic and functional modifications to be done - is ready, a silicon index is fabricated: by filling it up with a composite material and stamping it on the teeth, the ideal smile design is now transferred from the model to the patient’s face.

The mock-up is then refined and improved directly in the mouth of the patient, who will be able to then keep it for a few days, to check the esthetics and function of the new teeth and get used to the new smile. After few days, the mock-up is easily removed without any permanent consequence on the teeth, allowing the patient to decide whether or not to undergo the prosthetic rehabilitation.