How We Design a Smile: Records, Wax-Up and Trial Smile
For anyone considering cosmetic dental treatment who wants to see a planned change first. This page walks through the smile design process at Deepcar Dental Care: the consultation, photographs and scan, the digital design, the laboratory wax-up, a trial smile in your mouth and shade taking, with a written plan and second consultation before you commit. A design guides treatment but cannot promise the finished result.
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Clinically reviewed by Dr Ibraheem Ijaz, dentist · GDC 301711
Medical disclaimer: This page is for general information only. It does not replace an examination or treatment by a dentist.
This page is reviewed by Dr Ibraheem Ijaz, the practice's principal dentist. He is a General Dental Practitioner registered with the General Dental Council (GDC 301711). His qualifications are BDS, BSc (Hons), an MSc from Leeds (2023), a PG Cert in Restorative and Aesthetic Dentistry (2024) and a PG Dip in Implant Dentistry (2024). Patients describe the practice in their own words on our patient reviews page.
What is smile design?
Smile design is planning a cosmetic change around your face, lips, gums and teeth, so the planned change can be seen and judged before treatment. Reviews of digital smile design describe analysing facial and dental proportions, the lips and gums, and factors such as the bite (occlusion) and tooth position. They describe turning the design into a wax-up or mock-up, so the patient can see the proposed change and give feedback before treatment begins.
Smile design is part of cosmetic dentistry, the branch of dentistry concerned with how teeth look. A smile makeover is several cosmetic treatments combined. Design principles such as proportion and symmetry are explained under the principles of smile aesthetics.
What are the steps in our smile design process?
The smile design process at Deepcar Dental Care includes eight planning steps:
- Clinical photographs
- An intraoral scan of your teeth
- A digital smile design, drawn up in exocad software
- A laboratory wax-up of the proposed shapes
- A trial smile, or mock-up, in your mouth
- Shade taking under corrected lighting
- A written plan before anything starts
- A second consultation before you commit
How long is a cosmetic consultation?
A cosmetic consultation at Deepcar Dental Care lasts 45 to 60 minutes. The GDC's Standards for the Dental Team, which apply across the dental team, require dental professionals to listen to patients, give them time to consider information, and explain the options, including delaying treatment or doing nothing, with the risks and benefits of each.
Before a cosmetic consultation, it helps to know what you want to change and why. Saying what you would leave alone helps as much as saying what bothers you.
What records are taken for smile design?
Records for smile design at Deepcar Dental Care include clinical photographs and an intraoral scan of your teeth. The intraoral scanner, made by Shining 3D, records the shape of your teeth digitally.
A review of digital smile design lists facial photographs and intraoral scans among a design's inputs. How scanners and design software are used in dentistry is covered under digital dentistry.
How is the smile design proposal drawn up?
At Deepcar Dental Care the smile design proposal is drawn up in exocad, a digital design program. In published descriptions of digital smile design, a design is built around facial reference lines, such as the line between the pupils and the line between the corners of the mouth. These descriptions also include checking the upper lip at rest and in a smile to judge how much gum shows, and setting tooth proportions from published guides.
Book a cosmetic consultation online or call 0114 288 2121.
What is a diagnostic wax-up?
A diagnostic wax-up is a model of your teeth with the proposed new shapes built up in wax. At Deepcar Dental Care the wax-up is made by a dental laboratory, and no laboratory work is sent overseas.
A wax-up turns a smile design into a physical shape on a model, before anything happens in your mouth. Case literature describes two kinds: a traditional wax-up, which needs changes to the model, and an additive wax-up, which builds wax onto the model without altering it. The same literature describes the wax-up as the template for the trial smile and as a guide for keeping veneer preparation to a minimum.
What is a trial smile, and is it removable?
A trial smile, also called a mock-up, is generally a removable copy of a wax-up, made in a temporary material and placed over the teeth. In one method described in case literature, a putty index taken from the wax-up is filled with temporary resin and seated over the teeth.
The trial smile lets you see and judge the smile design in your own face, rather than on a screen. Case literature describes the intraoral mock-up as a reversible procedure carried out before any irreversible step, so the temporary material can be taken off again. Seeing a trial smile does not commit you to treatment.
How is the shade chosen in smile design?
At Deepcar Dental Care, shade is taken under corrected lighting, with digital shade matching. Where needed, you may visit the dental laboratory for shade taking. How colour is matched between natural teeth and dental materials is explained under dental shade matching.
How do you approve a smile design?
Before treatment starts, the smile design process includes two named approval gates: the written plan and the second consultation.
- Approval gate 1, the written plan: a written plan is given before anything starts.
- Approval gate 2, the second consultation: a second consultation comes before you commit to treatment.
GDC standards describe consent as a process, not a one-off event.
What does published evidence say about trial smiles and their limits?
A smile design shows a planned change; it cannot promise that the finished teeth will look exactly like it. In published case reports, the trial smile stage is where a patient can evaluate, give an opinion on and approve the final shape. It is also where a design can still be changed, before any irreversible step. Case literature notes that the mock-up can be adjusted to meet last-minute aesthetic wishes, and that a digital simulation alone is often not enough for a patient to understand the planned change.
A review of digital smile design lists poor photographs as a limitation: a distorted image can lead to an incorrect diagnosis and plan. A case report describes the mock-up as a check on the plan only within biological and functional limits; in that case the bite and speech were also checked with the mock-up in place. Another review describes assessing functional outcomes, such as bite stability, alongside appearance.
What happens after you approve a smile design?
After the written plan and the second consultation, you decide whether to go ahead with treatment.
For composite bonding, photographs, an intraoral scan, a wax-up or digital design and a mock-up in the mouth are part of the treatment, and one technique used, case by case, builds the composite through a silicone key made from a wax-up.
If you are still deciding, working out which option suits you starts from the change you want, and choosing a cosmetic dentist explains what to look for in a practice.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see my smile before treatment?
You can see a preview of the proposed shape. The smile design process at Deepcar Dental Care includes a trial smile, or mock-up, in your mouth, so you can judge the planned change in your own face before any treatment starts. It shows the planned change rather than the finished teeth.
What is the difference between digital smile design and a wax-up?
Digital smile design is drawn on screen, and a wax-up is a physical model of the proposed shapes on a copy of your teeth. Reviews describe the digital design as a way to show the laboratory technician the shape, arrangement and colour the patient expects. Case literature describes the trial smile as copied from the wax-up into the mouth.
Do I have to go ahead with treatment after the trial smile?
No. GDC standards say patients can withdraw their consent at any time, refuse treatment, or ask for it to be stopped after it has started. That right applies at every stage of the smile design process, including after the trial smile and after the written plan.
Will the finished teeth look exactly like the trial smile?
Not always. A review of smile design names the materials used, the patient's anatomy and software limits as factors that can make a finished result differ from the digital design. Treat the trial smile as a guide to the planned shape and proportion, not a promise of the finished teeth.
How much does treatment cost after smile design?
It depends on the treatment you go ahead with. On the current fee list, composite bonding is from £300 per tooth, and fee-list prices are starting prices, based on individual clinical needs. GDC standards expect the possible costs of proposed treatment to be explained before it starts. How cosmetic prices vary is explained under treatment costs.
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We look after patients from Deepcar, Stocksbridge and Oughtibridge, and from across north Sheffield, including Wadsley, Hillsborough and Fulwood. Many travel further, from Penistone, Barnsley and Rotherham. The practice is on the A6102 at 334 Manchester Road, and no referral is needed.
334 Manchester Road
Deepcar, Sheffield S36 2RH
0114 288 2121
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Open 8am to 8pm, seven days
Free parking at the door