ISM 2016-2017 Final Product

Final Product Proposal

Product Description:

When thinking about my final product, I was inspired to create something that would

showcase my passion for the field of Cosmetic Dentistry. At first glance, it seemed impossible to bottle

up all the passion I have for what I am doing, into one small product. I believed that it would be

difficult for me to encompass a full year of experiences and learning into one final product, until I met

my mentor, Dr. Dale Greer.

For my final product, I will be creating a set of perfectly straight teeth using a technique

called a wax-up. There will be four stages to my product. With the assistance of my mentor, I will

have a model of crooked teeth, from one of Dr. Greer’s patients. Dr. Greer will take an impression of

the patients real, crooked teeth, and then use that impression to create a replica of their teeth made

out of plaster. This will be the ‘before’ stage, and I will use this model to show the progression of the

work I will be doing on the teeth. The next phase of my product will be taking the model of the

crooked teeth and preparing it. This involves shaving down protruded portions of the teeth to create

a ‘blank slate’ in order to rebuild the new teeth. This will be the first of a two step ‘during’ process.

The second part of the process is the most time consuming, and the portion I will be working on the

most. I will be sculpting the set of teeth using hot wax and sculpting tools. Dr. Greer will be advising

me and teaching me all about the techniques of building a tooth out of wax. The final stage of my

product will be displayed as a set of perfectly straight teeth made out of acrylic or porcelain,

depending on time available. The ‘after’ stage will display what the final set of teeth would look

like, if they were to be seated on the patient. Due to my lack of certifications, the teeth that I wax-up

will not be put on the patient, but this will show me firsthand the process of creating veneers. I will

have four tangible models that will display the before, two during, and after phases. These four

models will constitute as my final product.

Research:

Throughout my ISM experience, I have spent a large amount of time writing assessments,

and doing research. During this research, I have written multiple assessments about types of veneers,

and their impact on the field of Cosmetic Dentistry. When Dr. Greer proposed to me the idea, I felt the

development of this product would utilize information I had already obtained about veneers. By

having researched and learned how vital veneers are to this field, I will be able to appreciate and

recognize that my product will be relevant to my future career. The placement of veneers is a

common and important component of cosmetically focused dentistry. Researching them prior to the

development of my product will now allow me to implement aspects of veneers that I learned, into

my product.

Mentorship:

In developing my final product, the bulk of important information I will be utilizing, has

come from my mentor. Dr. Greer has been more than a mentor to me. He has been a teacher, an

advisor, and a critic of my work. While the information I learned from my individual research was

helpful, everything I have learned from Dr. Greer has been irreplaceable, and vital to the

development of my product. Dr. Greer has already begun to teach me about sculpting a wax-up, and

I have had the chance to spend many hours practicing these techniques already. I have learned

about elements of tooth anatomy, how the tooth is contoured, and where light should reflect on the

tooth. These little details, and many more, are what make Dr. Greer so great at what he does, but

also why his dental work is so renowned. I will be taking all the techniques Dr. Greer is teaching me,

and implementing them into a product that will truly display all of my hard-work, learning, and

how much I love Cosmetic Dentistry.

Product Application:

By pursuing the creation of this product, I will be learning a technique that is taught to senior

students in dental school. In developing this product, I will be way ahead of anybody my age, and

will be even more prepared for dental school. Creating my product and mastering the technique of a

wax-up will benefit me when I someday have my own practice, and create veneers for my own

patients. By starting to master such a difficult procedure, I will be able to be even better at it by the

time I have my own patient base. The extreme relevance my product will have to my future career

makes me so excited to begin to master this technique.

Not only will my product benefit me and my own studies, but learning how to create

veneers will impact the confidence of my future patients. While my product will not be used on a

patient right now, the techniques I learn will help me to create the best dental work I can when I

become a Cosmetic Dentist. The thing that I have found the most passion for, is the idea of making

patients more confident in themselves. I love to smile, and I draw confidence from it in times of need.

Patients that seek veneers lack confidence in their smile, and I want to be the one to give that to

them. I have come to love the reaction a patient has when Dr. Greer gives them a new smile, and

developing my final product will put me a step in the right direction towards doing the same. My

final product is a stepping stone towards many more years of learning in my undergraduate studies,

and then ultimately dental school.

Resources:

- Impressioned plaster tooth model (before phase)

- Plaster

- Prepared plaster tooth model (during phase)

- Dental wax and hot wax instruments

- Sculpting tools

- Wax-up tooth model (during phase)

- Acrylic

- Acrylic straight teeth model (after phase)

Budget:

Dr. Greer has generously provided me with all of the resources to create my final product, so I

will not be considering budgetary concerns.

Conclusion:

As Dr. Greer and I have developed this idea, I have come to realize that it is everything I

wanted in a product. It is more than relevant to me and my future, it excites me, it will challenge

me, and it will be so rewarding once I complete it. I feel so lucky to have this opportunity, because

how many high school kids get the chance to create a set of perfectly straight veneers? Only the ones

with a fantastic mentor, and a program like Independent Study and Mentorship.

Product Progress

Date:

April 7, 2017

Analysis:

Since January when I started my final product, my experience has been consumed with hard

work and help from my mentor. I have been practicing the technique of a wax-up since Dr. Greer

became my mentor in November, but like all difficult techniques, it takes time and practice to

perfect. For my final product I have been creating a wax-up of a set of crooked teeth, mimicking

what Dr. Greer would do for a real set of veneers. Creating this will consist of two parts, the wax-up

stage, and then creating the acrylic temporaries from my wax up. The creation of my final product

will showcase many hours and many skills I have learned from my mentor this year. I am so excited

to say that I have officially completed the wax-up stage.

While creating my wax-up I have encountered many failures, but also many victories. As if

I haven't stressed it enough, but creating a replica of a tooth that will eventually be put in someone's

mouth is not easy stuff. In mentor visits before starting my product, I had only been creating one

central incisor. The biggest challenge I faced was after I had created the right central incisor, and

then had to exactly replicate it on the left. Getting the proximal contours and the lobes on one tooth

to match exactly on the other is time consuming, but I was able to finally do so. One of the other

roadblocks I faced involved learning the anatomy of the laterals, cuspids, and bicuspids. I had never

waxed these teeth before, so I had to soak up all Dr. Greer was teaching me about their structure.

Eventually I figured out how to wax the teeth perfectly, and Dr. Greer was there every step of the

way. One of my biggest accomplishments during this stage has been my ability to learn from Dr.

Greer, and put all of his information into practice. From learning about the different types of contours,

to figuring out how to use the sculpting and hot wax tools to the best of my ability. I have come to

find that along with hard work, I have a natural ability for sculpting veneers. Dr. Greer has

encouraged me and had confidence in me every step of the way.

Not only has Dr. Greer provided me with so much knowledge, but he has provided all of the

materials and resources for me to create my wax-up. I work on my wax-up in his lab and utilize him

and all of his staff to get feedback. Over the past few months, I have spent just over 12 hours working

on my wax-up. All of the time I have put in has been so worth it. Just looking at the wax-up, I can

see all of my hard work, but also all of the knowledge I have gained. I am not even on to the final

phase yet, but I can already see how great my product will turn out. It is crazy how far my mentor

and I have gotten in my product development, and I intend to have it fully complete by the first

week of May, at the latest. Considering how hard I have been working, I feel that it will be easy to

finish it by then. My favorite part of this entire process has been realizing that the technique I am

learning will have the capability to change someone’s life and make them smile. This is why I

entered the field in the first place, and my hopes are becoming a reality. Overall, my mentor has

been the most important person in the development of my wax-up, and I couldn't have done it

without him. I look forward to continuing my hard work and eventually seeing how my product

turns out.

When I started to create my final product in January, I felt it would be impossible to encompass a

year’s worth of work, into one final product. After brainstorming and planning with my mentor Dr.

Greer, I figured out a way to achieve what I thought was impossible. I produced four models that

represent the stages of creating dental veneers and crowns, and personally sculpted the wax-up of the

eight frontal teeth. These four models constitute as my final product and represent all of the hard

work I did and the knowledge I gained this year. I would not have been able to create my product

without Dr. Greer and his willingness to provide the knowledge and tools to mimic a real preparation

of dental veneers and crowns.

Throughout the process of developing my final product, I documented my journey through

the models, but I also photographed the entire process. I feel that these pictures do a great job of

detailing the process I went through. So here’s the beginning.

My final product “training”, where I began to learn how to do a wax-up.

The impression I took of the patient’s teeth. We used this impression to create all of the models used in

my final product.

The original before model made out of plaster. This model was made from the impression and used to

create the new teeth. I also utilized this model to show the drastic change from before to after.

The prepared model, which Dr. Greer shaved down to allow me tocreate the new teeth out of wax.

The wax-up of the right central incisor.

Wax-up of the right and left central incisors.

The two laterals waxed-up.

Using the Golden Rule of Proportionality to create the cuspids.

Wax-up of all eight teeth, central incisors, laterals, cuspids and bicuspids.

The materials used to create the acrylic temporary of my wax-up.

The prepared model and the stent which will both be used to create the acrylic temporary of the

wax-up I created. The stent is an exact replica of the wax-up (retainer like piece).

Solutions used to coat the prepared model. These were used to make sure that the acrylic will be able

to be separated from the prepared model once it has cured.

The salt & pepper technique. I took Powder acrylic and liquid acrylic and covered the prepared

model in each one interchangeably in order to create an intimate mold of the acrylic.

At the same time, Dr. Greer’s lab technician was curing the gel acrylic to be put in the stent.

We then took the prepared model and the stent and joined them perfectly. Next they went in the

pressure pot for 10 minutes for the acrylic to harden.

The acrylic temporary after hardening. The prepared model would have to be separated from the

stent in order to get the acrylic by itself.

Dr. Greer and I then shaved down the excess acrylic to create the perfect look.

My final model of my final product. An acrylic temporary of the wax-up I created from a crooked

set of teeth. This would actually be put into a patient's mouth if this had been one of Dr. Greer’s real

cases.