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cosmetic section

Digital clinical communication with

the patient during natural teeth

whitening procedures

Prof. Dubravka Knezović Zlatarić

Communication with the patient during
dental procedures is an integral part of the
protocol in everyday dental practice. When
the patient arrives at the dental office, it’s
not only to present the current problem,
but also to show interest in the possible
solutions we can offer. In addition to basic
information related to the diagnosis, the
patient is interested in the materials used,
the course of their production, duration
of procedures and most importantly, the
outcome of the procedure and the future
appearance.
We have seen an increase in the number
of patients with esthetic deviations coming
to our dental offices with the desire for
their correction, even though they have
completely intact, healthy teeth. If there is Fig 1: Display of the new module (light blue icon), systematic measurement of the bleached
an indication in such a case, it is necessary index on the upper six front teeth, and digital expression of the obtained results in the mobile
to perform minimally invasive procedures application. This is the initial measurement of the beached index for the need to set a whitening
in which the esthetic deviation will be indication. The average bleached index in this patient was 16 (ranging from an index value of 1 to
corrected with the least possible damage 29), and the value obtained indicates an indication for whitening treatment.
to the tooth tissue. Such patients very often
express an unrealistic desire to achieve
a certain appearance that is not possible
to achieve with a dental procedure. The
influencing role of social media and the
opinions of lay people, instead of dentists,
can often negatively affect the initial attitude
of the patient. Also, the pressure to create
a positive opinion about the appearance
of a smile on social media, can lead to
post-production and image processing
with added changes that often end up as
extremely bright and unnaturally white
teeth that are unrealistic, and can create the
desire to achieve the same results.
Regardless of the very rapid development
of materials, techniques and technologies
in the dental profession, we are aware of
all the limitations of our procedures and
know what and how we can achieve them, Fig 2: Display of systematic measurement of the bleached index of each individual upper front
but there is always the question of whether tooth.

50 Dental Practice i July-August 2023 i Vol 19 No 4