Page 36 - DP20-2.qxd

AESTHETIC DENTISTRY 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 the 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 an indication in such a case, it is necessary to perform
minimally invasive procedures in which the esthetic deviations
will be corrected with the least possible damage to the tooth and its Fig 1: Display of the new module (light blue icon), systematic
surrounding tissues. Such patients very often express an unrealistic measurement of the bleached index on the upper front six teeth, and
desire to achieve a certain appearance that is not possible to achieve digital expression of the obtained results in the mobile application.
This is the initial measurement of the bleached index for the need to
with a dental procedure. The influencing role of social media and the set a whitening indication. The average bleached index in this patient
opinions of the laypeople, instead of dentists, can often negatively was 16 (ranging from an index value of 1 to 29), and the value obtained
affect the initial attitude of the patient. Also, the pressure to create a indicates an indication for whitening treatment.
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, but there is always the question of whether our patient can
understand and accept the same. Many years of clinical experience
have taught us that the disparity in understanding the results achieved
by dental procedures, ultimately ends in patient dissatisfaction and a
number of other complications, including potential legal challenges.
In this sense, the dental profession has advanced with the
development of various communication skills and tools, not only Fig 2: Display of systematic measurement of the bleached index of
verbal ones that attempt to explain the purpose, procedures, goal each individual upper front tooth.
and final result in a patient-friendly way, but also visual ones, such as
wax-ups and composite mock-ups in the patient’s mouth, and lately,
more digital, such as various software solutions that offer graphic, 3D intact teeth, we are not able to show them the final shade of their teeth
simulations of the future appearance of the patient. by making wax-ups or mock-ups. Previous digital programs offered
In this sense, a special group of our patients are those who have an excellent graphic level simulation of the change in shape, size and
an indication for teeth whitening procedures due to the unsatisfactory position of the teeth, but not a satisfactory shade change. The only
existing shade of the tooth structure. Namely, in such patients, and thing we have used so far for this purpose, are different, typically
most often in the younger population with completely healthy and unsatisfactory shade tabs for the everyday shade assessment in dental

Access this article online at https://www.dental-practice.biz/emagazine/dp20-2/#p=36

36 Dental Practice I March-April 2024 I Vol 20 No 2