Digital Denture for a life-changing smile - Part 3

Part 3: Andrea and her new smile

“Not only did her smile change, mine changed as well. Dentists can make profound changes in people’s lives and positively influence their overall well-being. That sense of satisfaction and purpose is why I became a dentist,” wrote Dr Peter Siedlakowski, the referring dentist. Part 3 describes how Andrea reacted to her new smile.

On the surgery day, the interim dentures produced with the Digital Denture process were ready and waiting. Andrea’s remaining teeth were extracted under full anaesthetic. In addition, slight alveoloplasty was conducted to provide optimal esthetic results. The surgery was successful.

“I accompanied my daughter on surgery day and thought about the struggle that the last few years had been for Andrea and for all of us. In just a little while I would see my daughter with teeth for the first time in years. I can’t tell you how excited I was for that moment,” remembers Andrea’s mother about the day that would change her daughter’s life.

When she woke up from the anaesthetic, Andrea was fitted with her interim dentures. She was released in the care of her mother. One week later she presented to the practice for a recall appointment. At that time, it seemed like she had been transformed into a new person. Not only her appearance, but also her demeanour had changed remarkably. She radiated vitality and self-confidence.

The surgical intervention took place under full anaesthetic. The interim dentures were fabricated with the Digital Denture system prior to the surgery and they were inserted immediately.

The preliminary treatment phase represented an important step within the rehabilitation process.

Considering the best-case expectations for this phase, the interim prosthetics achieved ideal results with reference to fit, form and function. The patient attained not only a beautiful smile, but also – more importantly in this case – a significantly improved quality of life. Due to the Digital Denture process, the patient experienced very little discomfort. The number of dental appointments was reduced to a minimum, while the results were maximized.

A close-up picture of Andrea‘s new smile one week after the treatment.

A new smile for Andrea

The meaning of the prosthetic rehabilitation for our patient went much deeper than simply receiving a new smile. As is the case in many situations of day-to-day dentistry and dental lab technology, dentures mean much more to patients than simply new teeth: They affect their personality, individuality, well-being and above all their health. Andrea’s story clearly shows how distressful dental problems can be for a patient and how great an impact new dentures can have on a person’s quality of life. Before the treatment, Andrea suffered both physically and emotionally. Her situation seemed to be hopeless (Part 1). However, the temporary dentures alone allowed her to regain her self-assurance to a great extent. Today, Andrea is broadly happy and confident and motivated to take the next treatment steps.
Andrea beams with vitaility and self-confidence – the situation one week after the extraction of her teeth and the placement of the interim dentures made with Digital Denture.


Digital Denture offered the patient a comfortable treatment modality.

Digital Denture is an automated digital manufacturing process for the efficient production of removable dentures. This innovative process offered the young patient a way out of her difficult and distressful situation. It allowed us to create removable dentures using CAD/CAM methods without having to change any of the usual clinical dental processes. At the time of the surgical intervention, the dentures were ready for insertion.

Summary of the Digital Denture process

1. Anatomical impression taking; model fabrication and scanning of the models
2. Importing of data in the Digital Denture software
3. Virtual removal of remaining teeth and virtual model analysis
4. Selection of tooth moulds (Digital Denture Full Arch tooth library) and automatic tooth setup
5. Automatic file splitting of the dental arch and denture base
6. PrograMill PM7: Coarse milling of the tooth arch (SR Vivodent CAD Multi) and the denture base (IvoBase CAD Pink V)
7. Bonding of the dental arch to the denture base (IvoBase CAD Bond)
8. PrograMill PM7: precision milling
9. Finishing, polishing
10. Placement

Would you like to know more about Digital Denture? Contact us or request a brochure or consultation appointment!

The gratitude shown by the patient and her family profoundly changed the way we perceive our work.

Being able to smile and interact normally with other people is a basic human need. Andrea described her new-found quality of life on the basis of a simple trip to a local shopping mall: “I realized that I can now actually shop at my own pace without rushing. I could look at people when I was talking to them, or while I was cashing out and they were asking me questions. I felt like I could be myself again!”

“The fact is that people will always judge others based on their appearance. Now, the first thing people will notice about my daughter is how beautiful she looks. It amazes me to know that there is this group of professionals – Kukucka, DD, and his team, Dr Shuren and Dr Siedlakowski – going above and beyond to help my daughter. I believe that Ivoclar Vivadent will revolutionize dentures with this new system in the future. The ground breaking technology you are developing is going to change many lives,” wrote Andrea’s mother in a heartfelt thank-you letter.

Collage of portrait pictures showing the dramatic change undergone by Andrea. In a follow-up interview she commented on the immense improvement of her quality of life and expressed her gratitude in a letter.

Ultimately, the cutting-edge technology responsible for enabling this kind of treatment is only one component among many others. In a difficult case such as Andrea’s, it is essential that the dental team members work together very closely. Furthermore, they need to be empathetic and caring and have a deep awareness and understanding of the anxieties felt by the patient. We not only created new dentures for Andrea, but we also helped her to get through a difficult time in her life and measurably improve her quality of life.

“Before the treatment I was so depressed and hated to look at myself. Today I am healing. One day, when everything is fully finished, I will be able to love myself again. That is going to be such an amazing feeling. Thank you for believing in me and for being the most amazing people I have ever met in my life. This letter sounded so much better in my head. I wish I could get it onto paper perfectly, but I can’t,” said Andrea in a letter addressed to our team.

In the next phase we will provide Andrea with dental implants. She has great confidence in our team and is well-prepared to face the upcoming challenges.

We are all here to support Andrea on her journey to regaining her quality of life: Her new dentures are only the beginning.