Cosmetics Sizzle

It wasn’t unheard of before 1985, but at the Chicago MidWinter meeting that February, cosmetic dentistry became the hottest topic around.

The concept wasn’t new; Dr. Charlie Pincus was air-firing and glazing laminate veneers for Hollywood stars back in the 1930s. But for the dental community, the timing was right. Enlightened thinking about cosmetics and new products—like DenMat’s Cerinate Laminates, Myron’s Chameleon Veneers, and Cerestore and Dicor castable ceramics—afforded the industry an opportunity to embrace metal-free dentistry. As LMT pointed out, “Our industry is on the verge of an incredible opportunity to maximize its business potential and capture the 50% of the population that never frequents the dental office.”

Cosmetic dentistry required a different type of marketing and savvy laboratories and dentists learned to sell...