Excellence is often taken for granted in Newport Beach. If you are hiring an architect to design a custom home in Crystal Cove, or a surgeon for a complicated procedure, you’re probably not only going to be interested in an individual who is licensed but rather a master of their craft. Which is why choosing an AACD Accredited cosmetic dentist is non-negotiable.
However, with cosmetic dentistry, a lot of individuals make a big mistake in judgment. They believe that any dentist who wears the title “porcelain veneer dentist” should have the artistic eye and engineering skills needed to make an exceptional porcelain veneer.
This assumption can have significant consequences.
The truth of the dentistry business is grim. Everybody has a license to do cosmetic procedures, but most are general dentists. They can hold a weekend seminar for people to attend, buy a marketing package, and then put the term “Cosmetic Dentist” on their business card. They are not impeded by any regulatory board.
That’s where the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) Accreditation makes a difference. It is a division between a general dentist and a master craftsman. It is a qualification acquired by less than 1% of dentists worldwide.
Dr. Dimple Desai has not only learned about cosmetic dentistry, but she has also tested her talents on the hardest of all the testing boards in the industry at Luminous Smiles! She’s the one and only female AACD Accredited dentist in Newport Beach and is able to give you more of a sense of predictability and artistry in her practice than general dentistry would be able to.
Why Choosing an AACD Accredited Dentist Matters
In order to appreciate the meaning of Accreditation, it is important to be familiar with the gap in the standard dental education.
Pathology is taught at dental school. Doctors can be taught to fix broken things, fill a cavity, pull out a tooth, treat a gum disease, and so on, but the learning of the complicated physics of light reflecting off porcelain is not in their scope. It does not always teach the geometry of the human face. Nor does it instruct you on how to create a smile unlike anyone else that takes into account the natural muscle action of your lips.
These skills are usually developed by trial and error by most dentists. Sadly, they typically go through this learning process with their actual patients.
Dr. Desai believes that your smile should NOT be a practice ground.
AACD Accreditation is the only system in the world that validates a dentist’s skill at master level in cosmetic treatments. It’s not a membership that you can purchase. It’s a gauntlet you will have to live through.
The Gauntlet: What It Takes to Become Accredited
What makes it so that fewer than 1% of dentists do? The process is meant to weed out all those who are not obsessed with perfectionism. It takes many years to finish, and requires three arduous examinations.
1. The Written Examination
It starts with a foundational knowledge test on all aspects, from morphology (tooth shape) to materials science. It is important that a dentist first demonstrates knowledge of the chemistry of bonding agents and how the teeth fit together (occlusion) before he or she can be expected to present work.
2. The Clinical Case Submissions
This is where the true artists are separated from the mechanics. To proceed, Dr. Desai had to submit five specific types of clinical cases for anonymous peer review. These are not just random before-and-after photos. They are specific, complex challenges that test every facet of a dentist’s skill set:
Here, the real artistry comes out and distinguishes itself from mechanics. Dr. Desai had to deliver five distinct presentations of clinical cases that would go for anonymous peer review.
- Case Type 1: 6 or more indirect restorations ( Veneers/Crowns ) to correct significant aesthetic problems.
- Case Type 2: One or two indirect restorations. This involves making a perfect match of a false tooth to a true tooth, the most challenging of dental procedures.
- Case Type 3: Replacement of a tooth in the aesthetic zone either through a bridge or implant.
- Case Type 4: Direct bonding to close up a diastema (gap).
- Type 5: Class IV Direct resin restoration (a broken-down front tooth being rebuilt by hand).
The cases are judged individually by the panel of the world’s best cosmetic dentists in a blind test. They look for important details in the photos at a high magnification. They judge the health of the gum, how the color matches, texture, and functional alignment of the teeth. If a margin is visible, you fail the test. If the gum tissue appears red and irritated, you can fail because of that too.
3. The Oral Examination
Dentists who successfully complete the clinical review advance to the next stage. The Oral defense. They present their work to a panel of examiners and defend their decisions.
Dr. Desai charted this course with success. When you sit in her chair, you should take reassurance from the rigor of going through a system of credibility like this. You give your face to a woman who proved her work objectively and anonymously to be indistinguishable from perfection.
The Female Perspective in a Male-Dominated Field
Dr. Desai is in a special category with respect to the medical community in Newport Beach. Her unique approach to smile design sets her apart as the region’s only female AACD Accredited dentist.
Over the years, the field of dentistry has been a male-dominated profession. This has frequently shaped the cosmetic products dentists develop. Older, traditional veneers are often very white, dense, and bulky. They’re man-made teeth. They have sturdy construction and a confrontive look.
Dr Desai has a different sensitivity towards the smile. Her area of specialty is the harmony of the face and anti-aging.
Whiteness of teeth is not the only factor to consider when it comes to a beautiful smile. It’s about the support of the teeth on the lips, as well as the “buccal corridor”, the shading space between the teeth and corner of the mouth. It’s the idea of making incisal edges that emulate a teen’s natural enamel translucency.
Women have a more subtle sense about these nuances. Dr. Desai knows that you don’t want a smile that enters the room five seconds in advance. You want a smile that will make people wonder, “you look rested”, or “Have you lost weight?”
You will want the work to be invisible. This is the finest luxury possible.
Risk Mitigation: The Insurance Policy for Your Face
Time is usually the greatest value that we have for our customers. Cosmetic case failure isn’t an economic one. It’s a big disruption of scheduling and a juggling of all emotions.
There are just too many patients that have come to Luminous Smiles for “rescue” work. They saw a general dentist that they had been paying a discount for a veneer, and found they received either large teeth or a puffy gum line, or that their bite wasn’t right, causing them to suffer from chronic headaches.
It is much more costly and difficult to fix poor dental work than to pursue proper dental care from the start.
When you select an AACD Accredited dentist, you’re buying insurance coverage against substandard treatment.
You won’t experience any confusion. Using 3D scanning and digital modeling, we will be able to provide you with a preview of the results even before we start working on your enamel.
The Luminous Smiles Commitment
Don’t take chances with your look. Trust the credential that fewer than 1% of dentists have earned.
Dr. Desai invites you to a private consultation with her at Luminous Smiles. Let’s talk about your goals and demonstrate how science and artistry combined can make anything possible.
For more information, visit our website.
