What Is a Smile Mockup or Wax Up for a Smile Makeover?

Hello seekers of beautiful smiles! Today’s chat with our Burlington dentist is about mocking up the new smile. So, what is a mockup and why is it needed?

If you were following our chat about smile makeovers from the previous posts, we now know that so much goes into designing a smile. Once the decision is made on the desired tooth shape, whether we’re going for ceramic veneers or tooth composite bonding and whether gum contouring is needed or not, a wax up is made. 

A wax up is essentially a mockup for your smile makeover with the desired design in mind. It’s made in wax by our Burlington dentist and the lab. This is the template we use to show our patients what their beautiful new smile will look like before beginning the work! We use special temporary materials in the patient’s mouth and show them in the mirror what to expect, check their bite and make any adjustments as needed. We change contours, make the teeth shorter, longer, wider, or even narrower. We also pick specific design shapes based on the patient’s wishes. Think of it as a rehearsal but for smile makeovers! 

Next, is the actual tooth preparation. Once that stage is completed, the final look is delivered if the patient’s choice was direct bonding. If the plan was to go with ceramic veneers, the patient walks out of the appointment with the temporary veneers designed as specified during the rehearsal to test drive them at home while we wait for the permanent ones to arrive from the lab. Any changes or tweaks can still be made on these temporaries and the lab informed to design the actual veneers with that in mind. We take photos and models of the mockup to show the patient, because a photo speaks louder than a thousand words!

How long can they last? Long! Sometimes we place temporary crowns for months to test the bite if we had to change it to accommodate our new crowns or veneers. This is a very important step, so we make sure that the temporary crowns are made and designed well! 

More to come on the next steps, so stay tuned!