The Journey to Regain a Confident Smile Through Minimally Prepared Laminate in Aesthetic Treatment at Yonsei Dagam Dental Clinic

Hello.

This is Yonsei Dagam Dental Clinic near Songpa Station.

Do you usually cover your mouth and smile because of aesthetic concerns such as the shape, color, or alignment of your teeth?

Aesthetic issues with the oral structure can lead to a loss of confidence and create habits of limiting your smile.

Especially during important moments in life, such as a wedding,

on days when photos are taken with a happy smile,

worry often comes first..

Because there are many people at Songpa Station Dental Clinic who have these concerns,

let’s take a look at the laminate process,

a representative aesthetic treatment used to solve these problems.

The first important step in aesthetic treatment is

to comprehensively collect and analyze the patient’s dental condition,

shape, color, and smile line.

Through this, we can establish a treatment direction to achieve the result the patient wants.

As a result of analyzing the case above,

at Songpa Station Dental Clinic,

we aimed for the following three improvements.

1. Align the crooked front teeth neatly.

2. Improve the teeth to a whiter shade.

3. Improve the “gummy smile,” where too much gum shows when smiling.

Laminate treatment is broadly divided into two methods:

“no-prep” and “minimal prep.”

No-prep laminate is, as the name suggests,

a method of attaching thin porcelain (ceramic)

to the tooth surface without filing down the teeth.

Minimal prep involves minimally removing the tooth surface

(usually 0.3–0.5 mm)

before attaching the porcelain.

Depending on the case, no-prep may be possible, but

when the front teeth are significantly misaligned or

protruded,

minimal prep laminate is recommended.

The reason, as explained at Songpa Station Dental Clinic, is as follows.

✅ Aesthetics.

When the alignment is severely irregular,

it may be difficult to create a natural appearance

without reshaping the surface.

The laminate may look too thick

or appear unnatural.

✅ Protrusion.

If performed on protruding teeth,

they may appear even more prominent,

which can make it difficult to close the lips

or affect pronunciation.

✅ Periodontal health.

When the teeth are misaligned,

no-prep laminate can create a step at the junction with the gums,

making it easier for plaque to accumulate,

which may increase the risk of gingivitis or periodontitis.

Fortunately, in the case shown,

a review found that the tooth alignment could be improved with laminate

without any reduction of the teeth.

The second goal was to make the teeth whiter.

Therefore, we planned to first whiten the natural teeth overall through whitening.

Why do whitening?

It is possible to adjust the color with prosthetics alone, but

the porcelain material has translucency and therefore appears semi-transparent.

Because this case was planned without filing the teeth,

the prosthetics to be made would be relatively thin,

so if the natural teeth were dark,

it might be difficult to achieve the desired level of whiteness.

Therefore, if the tone of the natural teeth is brightened first,

a more natural overall result can be obtained,

and the color will also harmonize well with the adjacent teeth

that do not have prosthetics attached.

The tone was brightened by about two steps,

from A3 to around A1.

Lastly, we needed to improve the gummy smile.

In the Songpa Station Dental Clinic case,

there was a noticeable amount of gum exposure when smiling.

This is called a “gummy smile.”

If the amount of gum shown when smiling is 3 mm or more,

it is classified as a gummy smile, and from an aesthetic standpoint,

there is an issue of the teeth appearing small.

Methods to improve this include

Botox injections or gingival contouring.

Botox is a non-surgical method,

and gingival contouring provides a more permanent solution.

In the Songpa Station Dental Clinic case,

the upper front teeth were relatively short and there was a large amount of gum tissue,

so gingival contouring (gingivectomy) was performed.

After local anesthesia, excess gum tissue was removed using a laser

or electrosurgical knife.

The gingival line was reshaped while considering

the natural proportions of the teeth.

Do you notice that the clinical crown length has become longer?

There may be temporary swelling and discomfort while the gum tissue heals,

but in most cases it stabilizes within 1–2 weeks.

After healing, based on the stabilized oral shape,

the prosthetic design was carried out and laminate was fabricated and attached.

By considering the three improvement points,

we were able to achieve overall harmony.

As shown today at Songpa Station Dental Clinic, laminate is a good method for aesthetic treatment,

but it cannot solve every aesthetic problem.

For example, if the tooth alignment is severely irregular,

orthodontic treatment may be more appropriate,

and if the natural teeth are severely damaged or heavily discolored,

crown treatment may be a better option.

There are some textbook guidelines for aesthetic dental treatment,

but the ultimately important goal is for the patient to achieve a result they like.

Because each person has different aesthetic preferences

and expectations,

sufficient communication between patient and dentist is key to treatment.

When I see a patient regain a confident smile with goals like the ones above,

I think that is the moment when I feel rewarded.

I hope everyone can regain a healthy smile

through appropriate care tailored to the individual.

This has been Yonsei Dagam Dental Clinic at Songpa Station.

Thank you.

2025.03.24~2025.04.11