During the last week of January, I had the opportunity to attend the Aesthetics 1 course at the Pankey Institute. This class taught me many "pearls” that will help me do my very best for you. What a fabulous experience as I learned from some of the true masters in the dental field. It was a very intimate setting as there were 19 students (including 4 lab techs) and 8 instructors. The instructors were: Dr. Gerry Chiche from Louisiana State School of Dentistry; Dr. Susan Hollar from Arlington, Texas; Dr. Frankie Shull from Lexington, South Carolina; Dr. J. A. Reynolds from Franklin, Tennessee; Mr. Matt Roberts, ceramist from Idaho Falls, Idaho; Dr. Jim Fondriest from Lake Forest, IL; Dr. Ed Swift from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; and Dr. Irwen Becker from the Pankey Institute. Quite an impressive faculty! The emphasis was on creating a functional, beautiful smile using exquisite photography for patient and laboratory communication. We were also introduced to the concept of the "Trial Smile” thanks to Dr. Hollar. This is a great way to help patients visualize their potential smile and a great way to open dialogue. It was exciting to have the opportunity to ask questions of the laboratory people and it really underscored the importance of a great laboratory / ceramist technician in order to give outstanding clinical results.  As always, my goal is to do my very best and to work with you to establish your most appropriate treatment.   If you are wondering how your smile could be enhanced, give our office a call for a complimentary "Trial Smile”.