The Artistry Of Designing Teeth Interview

An exceptional business often comes down to the personality and vision behind it. Diana Tadros, DDS DAGD FICOI, of Beauty and the Teeth Cosmetic Dental, loves what she does. Her passion is teeth, but designing the smile is a whole art in and of itself, especially in the niche she occupies.

Big City Ambition

Her approach to cosmetic dentistry was honed in Manhattan before she moved to her current practice in Fort Lauderdale. She grew up in Florida but always said, “I’ve always felt like I was like a big city girl. So when I moved to New York, I felt like that’s who I am. I think New York just makes you more ambitious.”

This sense of ambition led her to get into doing composite veneers to correct her clients’ teeth and smiles. Composites are preferable to porcelain which causes irreversible damage to the tooth.

A Life-Long Learner and Tenacious Improvement

She began educating herself at workshops and with advanced technologies to find the best way to influence smile design without cutting the tooth. The fact that she was just named the first and only candidate in the Fort Lauderdale area to be accredited by the Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry is a reflection of her tenacity and commitment.

“There’s way more of a learning curve for the bondings than there is for veneers.” The misconception is that the dentist makes a veneer, she says. “The lab makes the veneer. All the dentist is doing is cutting for the space for the lab to create the veneer.”

She continues that the real artistry in dentistry is “being able to do it chair-side with your hands, building it up yourself. That’s composites and bonding. So I feel like my composites are my art. It’s more me. And I add in a lot of the characterizations in it to make it look like a tooth, so much so that people sometimes say, ‘Well, I didn’t want a crack there.’ And I’m like yeah, but the tooth [next to it] has a crack. I made it look just the same.”

It is about that sense of perfection that makes clients flock to her. The influence of technology has also made her better at her calling. She says “photography has been a huge game-changer in the dental field because of Instagram and social media. People are posting their cases.”

The key here is “being able to understand what you’re looking at. And for me, every case that comes in, we photograph before and after.” She will take her photos from the day’s cases and look at them on the big screen.

“And if it looks okay on my 85=inch TV, then you pass my test.”

Delicate, Personalized Smile Design

For the smile design, Tadros uses a digital software that does very specific proportions. This way, she can show the patient directly what they’re hoping to accomplish.

“If they want to go wider, I can change the shape. We can add in teeth, take out, however we want to do it.”

The goal, in her experience, is to touch the tooth the least. “Teeth are just like anything else in your body. They’re going to deteriorate over time. But are we adding to that risk, or are we saving them from that risk?”

The idea is also to keep the experience both intimate and comforting, especially since, with smile design, it requires multiple appointments over time. This aesthetic reflects in the design of Tadros’ office, the art she hangs on the walls, and the distinct vibe.

“I made myself because I’m a funky kind of person. I can’t work in a very type A, very stringent [space]. This feels like home. People come here and they say it feels like family. My office manager, she takes the phones home, picks them up at night, and [my clients] talk to her like she’s an aunt. And that’s what I like. If there’s something they’re concerned about, they’re calling us and I’m like, ‘Hey, what’s up?’”

The Art of Dentistry

She compares her recent acceptance into the accreditation program for the Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry to being board-certified as a plastic surgeon. Tadros didn’t really see dentistry as art until she attended the professional workshops which gave her greater perspective and breadth of knowledge to share with her clients.

“I think it became an obsession that every time I go, I learn more, and I meet people that are that way.” One of the clients she is working with now understands that making a great smile is a collaboration.

“There is an art to it. I told her, ‘Artists, when they paint, it takes a while [to create] on a canvas, and you are the canvas.’”

Meet with Dr. Diana Tadros

If you are interested in meeting with Dr. Tadros for a dental consultation, fill out our online form or call our office.