Dr. Victoria Veytsman On Finding Her Patients' "Why"

We definitely lead with what that patient's desires are and what their unique needs are. So there is no cookie cutter approach. I'm such a huge proponent about transformation and taking control of our lives. And there's something that's bothering us. We have the power to change that. We have the power to give ourselves back the confidence that we may not have or may have lost over the years. We live in an age where we can do those things and that goes beyond the smile that goes like any part of our lives. When patients come in, we really assess their why, why are they doing this? But more importantly, what are their goals? What are their aesthetic goals? What have they been through? What is their history? We take impressions, we get our models back. We have a ceramist that's dedicated to helping us with smile designs. And we actually look at the entire face to see how we can restore balance and harmony. And we can actually try that smile in, see how it looks. The patient is very involved in the process. It's a highly collaborative process. So we don't dictate exactly what they're going to get. We certainly guide them, but we definitely lead with what that patient's desires are and what their unique needs are. So there is no cookie cutter approach. Patients are in temporaries for a couple of weeks after we've prepared the teeth. Those temporaries sort of serve as a template and they allow us to see what the style smile will look like, allow the patient to see what the smile will feel like. We can then make changes to that smile. We then get our final restorations back from our ceramist. We try everything in, make sure we love it, make sure the patient loves it, make sure the fit is right, and only then does everything get put in permanently. There are several follow up visits. We normally recommend a patient wear a night guard, continue with their regular checkups, veneers and smile makeovers generally last, I would say, about 15 years or so, depending on how well you take care of your smile. That's about the process of a smile makeover and smile design. There really is a huge creative component to this. There's science and art when it comes to designing smiles, which is why I love doing this. This is my absolute favorite procedure, which is why I've dedicated my entire practice to it. It's really the creativity that goes into it, the emotional component, helping this patient gain back their confidence, going on that transformative journey with them and seeing them step into this next stage of their life with this beautiful smile, it's amazing.