Gateway Dental Arts, a Cosmetic Dental Office in Utah, Innovates a Program to Let Patients Design Their Own Smile

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Salt Lake City cosmetic dentist, Dr. Richard Austin, is taking a new approach to dental work—he's letting his patients design their own smiles. Dr. Austin explains, "When people are looking for a smile makeover, or even just one or two cosmetic porcelain veneers, they want to know that their new smile is going to look great. It's a different situation than visiting the dentist for a filling. A new smile will alter how they look, how they feel when they glance in the mirror, so we want to make sure that everything is done right and that the patient is involved from the very beginning."

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Doing it right for Dr. Austin and Gateway Dental Arts means taking a new approach to the entire process. "First we sit down, one on one, and talk with our patients about how they want their new smile to look. Do they want to match the color of their existing teeth? Do they want a smile that's brighter? We'll even get the ceramist involved, the person who actually crafts the porcelain veneers, just to make sure everything is perfect."

While most dentists offer porcelain veneers, they rely on an outside lab to create the veneers. This presents several problems for the patient. First, waiting for a lab is time consuming and it takes additional visits to the dentist to complete the procedure. The time from first visit to a finished smile may be several days or even several weeks. Second, when a dentist uses an outside lab, they cross their fingers and hope the ceramist will do a good job, even though it's generally someone they've never met (and sometimes someone in another city or even country). Essentially, the dentist is expecting someone to make porcelain veneers that match the patient's teeth in color and fit, even though the ceramist has never seen the patient's smile in person. Unfortunately, the results are sometimes disappointing.

In order to solve these problems, and to involve the patient in their smile makeover every step of the way, Dr. Austin has set up a premier dental lab right within his dental practice. In addition, he has teamed up with one of the nation's top, award-winning ceramists, Eric Newell.

Austin notes, "Many patients may not realize how unusual it is to have a ceramist and dental lab located within a dental practice, but very few dental facilities across the country offer this advantage."

Dr. Austin believes that the benefits to the patient of having the ceramist involved from the very beginning are astounding. "Since the ceramist can see the patient's teeth in person, he can more easily craft veneers to match and fit existing teeth perfectly—and if there is an issue that needs correcting, he's right there to step in and make sure the new smile is perfect. If a dentist uses an outside lab and there's a problem, he either has to send the veneers back and schedule another visit for the patient, or make imperfect veneers work and nobody wants that as an alternative."  

Both Dr. Austin and Eric Newell are experienced in their specialties. Dr. Austin, for example, has placed over 30,000 dental veneers / restorations. Newell, on the other hand, has won numerous awards for his work, including "Top Honors" and a "Best of Show" at recent competitions. As a master ceramist, Newell has also created the veneers for many high-profile celebrities, including a Miss America. Working together, Dr. Austin and Eric Newell make the perfect dental dream-team.

Perhaps Gateway Dental Art patients say it best. L. Clawson, a recent patient noted, "I just absolutely love my teeth! Dr. Austin truly created a beautiful smile for me. Perfect strangers come up to me to compliment my beautiful smile. Not only are my teeth the best they have ever been, but Dr. Austin stands behind his work."

In addition to porcelain dental veneers and smile makeovers, Dr. Austin and Gateway Dental Arts specialize in cosmetic dental implants, porcelain restorations, crowns, conscious sedation dentistry (called sleep dentistry by many), teeth whitening and orthodontics.

Dr. Austin's practice, Gateway Dental Arts, is located in the Gateway Shopping Center in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. The complex is an upscale center that was built to host the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002.

Gateway Dental Arts is located at 440 West 200 So., Suite 275, Salt Lake City, UT 84101. Their phone number is 801.321.7600. For additional information visit www.GatewayDentalArts.com.

Dr. Austin graduated from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. with a Doctorate of Dental Surgery degree and has been practicing cosmetic dentistry in the Salt Lake City area for nearly 30 years. He is one of only a handful of Utah dentists to have completed the Advanced Dental Studies Master Aesthetic Dentist postgraduate program at the prestigious Las Vegas Institute (LVI). Out of the 150,000+ practicing dentists across the country, fewer than one quarter of one percent have attained this level of achievement.

SOURCE Gateway Dental Arts