You see the result on your face
A screen design shows teeth. A mock-up shows them with your lips, your face and your expressions, in a mirror and in photographs.
See it before it is done
Diagnostic Wax-Up and Smile Mock-Up in Dubai
A wax-up is the planned smile built on a model of your teeth. A mock-up puts that plan over your own teeth, without drilling, so you can see it, speak with it and change it first.
- Designed in our own lab
- Worn over unprepared teeth
- Approved before any preparation
The mock-up is made over your natural teeth. Nothing is prepared at that visit.
Quick answer
What is a diagnostic wax-up and smile mock-up?
A diagnostic wax-up is the proposed new shape of your teeth, built on a model of your mouth. A smile mock-up copies that shape onto your own unprepared teeth in temporary tooth-coloured material, so you can see and test it before anything irreversible is done. At Creative Arts in Dubai the wax-up is designed in Creative Art Dental Lab, in the same building, and the mock-up is made by your dentist.
27 yearsIn-house dental laboratory in the same building
Written planItemised treatment plan before you commit
Open daily10:00–20:00, seven days a week
Jumeirah 3614 Jumeira St, Umm Suqeim 1, Dubai
Why it comes first
What a wax-up and mock-up do before any tooth is prepared
Veneers and crowns usually need some enamel removed, and that cannot be undone. The wax-up and mock-up move every decision you can make in advance to a stage where it is still reversible.
You can change it cheaply
Length, edge shape and fullness are changed in the design and tried again. Changing ceramic after it is made means remaking it.
It guides the preparation
The dentist can prepare through the mock-up, so enamel is removed only where the approved shape needs room, not by eye.
It becomes the temporaries and the final work
The same approved design is used for the temporaries and as the blueprint the lab follows for the ceramic.
The process
How a diagnostic wax-up becomes a smile mock-up
Usually one records visit and one mock-up visit, with design work in the lab between them. More rounds are added if you want changes.
Records
Intraoral scan, bite record, smile and face photographs and a short video. Your dentist notes what you want to change and what must stay.
ClinicDigital wax-up
The lab designs the new tooth shapes on the scan of your teeth, following the dentist's prescription: midline, edge line, length and proportion.
LabPrinted model and template
The wax-up is 3D-printed as a model. A template made from it holds the new shape so it can be carried into your mouth.
LabMock-up over your teeth
The template is filled with tooth-coloured temporary material and seated over your unprepared teeth. After it sets, the template is removed and the excess trimmed.
ClinicReview and changes
You look, smile, talk and take photographs. Anything you want different goes back into the design and can be tried again.
Clinic + labApproval
Once you approve the mock-up, it is recorded and used to guide preparation, temporaries and the final ceramic.
Before preparation
Wax-up
Digital or physical wax-up: what is the difference?
Traditionally a wax-up was sculpted by hand in wax on a plaster model. Today the shapes are usually designed on screen and the result is 3D-printed as a physical model. The purpose is the same: to show the planned teeth in three dimensions before treatment.
- The digital design is fast to change and can be measured, so the dentist can see where teeth are being built out and where they would need reducing.
- The printed model can be held, checked from every angle and used to make the template for the mock-up.
The lab's printing work is described in 3D printing in the dental lab, and the design side in CAD/CAM.
Three views of one plan
Digital design vs wax-up model vs mock-up in the mouth
Each stage answers a different question. None of them replaces the others.
| Digital smile design | Wax-up model | Mock-up in your mouth | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Planned teeth drawn on photographs and the scan | The planned teeth on a printed model of your mouth | The planned teeth copied over your own teeth |
| Best for judging | Proportion and midline against the face | Shape in three dimensions, bite, where tooth is added or removed | How it looks and feels on you when you speak and smile |
| What it cannot show | How it feels; exact bulk | Your lips and face | Final colour and translucency |
| Reversible? | Yes | Yes | Yes — it comes off without damaging the teeth |
How the design itself is planned is explained in digital smile design.
What it can and cannot tell you
What you can change at a smile mock-up, and its limits
A mock-up is an accurate preview of shape. It is a rough preview of colour.
You can judge and change
- Length of the front teeth and how much shows at rest and when you talk
- Edge shape: straighter and squarer, or softer and more rounded
- How wide the teeth look and how the width steps down towards the canines
- Fullness and lip support
- Symmetry and the midline
- How speech feels with the new edges
It cannot show exactly
- The final shade and translucency: the temporary material is one flat colour
- Teeth that need moving inwards: a mock-up can add shape but not take it away, so the design or aligning first is used instead
- A change in the gum line: that is planned with gum contouring and shown in the design
- How thin the final ceramic will feel: a mock-up can feel slightly bulkier than the finished work
At a glance
Wax-up and mock-up in brief
- Wax-up made by
- Creative Art Dental Lab, in the same building as the clinic (614 Jumeira St, Jumeirah 3)
- Mock-up made by
- Your dentist, in the clinic, from the lab's template
- Drilling
- None: the mock-up sits over your unprepared teeth
- Comfort
- No anaesthetic is usually needed; it can feel slightly bulky
- Removal
- It comes off without damaging the teeth
- Typical lab time
- Typically 3–5 working days, depending on complexity
- Used for
- Veneers, Hollywood Smiles, front crowns and smile makeovers
Why it matters
Why the mock-up should come before any preparation
When teeth are prepared without an approved design, the amount removed is a guess. Two things tend to go wrong: more enamel is taken than the final shape needed, or too little room is left and the veneers end up thick.
Preparing through an approved mock-up avoids both. Where the new shape is fuller than your tooth, there may be little or nothing to remove; that is how some cases are treated with minimal preparation, as explained in Hollywood Smile without filing. Where the new shape sits inside your current tooth, the mock-up shows that before you commit.
After preparation, the same design becomes your temporary veneers, and finally the blueprint for the ceramic described in how a Hollywood Smile is made.
Bring your questions to the mock-up
Take photographs, smile fully, say a few sentences and look from a normal distance, not only close to the mirror. If something bothers you, say so then: it is far easier to change a design than a finished veneer. Your dentist records the approved version in your written plan.
Who treats you
Dentists who use wax-ups and mock-ups
They prescribe the wax-up, make the mock-up with you and prepare only after you approve it.
How does a dentist use an in-house lab day to day? Dr. Kinan Bonni’s in-house lab workflow sets out the planning, wax-up, try-in and verification steps that link the clinic and the lab in one building.
Patient questions
Frequently asked questions
Does a smile mock-up hurt or damage my teeth?
No drilling is involved. The mock-up material is placed over your natural teeth and comes off without damaging them. Most people need no anaesthetic. It can feel slightly bulky for the short time you wear it, because it sits on top of teeth that have not been prepared.
Is a smile mock-up the same as temporary veneers?
They use the same idea but at different stages. A mock-up is placed over unprepared teeth to test a design. Temporary veneers are placed after preparation to protect the teeth while the ceramic is made. Both normally copy the same approved design.
Is the colour of the mock-up the final colour of my veneers?
No. Mock-up material comes in limited shades and has no layered translucency. Use the mock-up to judge shape, length and proportion. Shade is chosen separately with shade tabs and photographs, and checked again at the try-in of the finished ceramic.
Can I ask for changes after seeing the mock-up?
Yes. That is what it is for. Changes go back into the digital wax-up and a new mock-up can be made. It is much easier to adjust a design at this stage than to change ceramic once it has been made.
Do I need a wax-up and mock-up for a single veneer?
For one tooth that simply copies its neighbour, your dentist may judge that a full mock-up is not needed. When shape, length or the smile line is changing, even for one or two teeth, a wax-up and mock-up help you see the result before preparation.
Can I take photos and videos of my smile mock-up?
Yes, and it is a good idea. Photographs and short videos while you speak and smile show things a mirror does not. Look at them later at normal viewing distance, and share your comments with your dentist before you approve the design.
Is the wax-up and mock-up included in the veneers plan?
At Creative Arts the design and mock-up are part of the veneer or smile plan, not an optional extra. Your written, itemised plan sets out each stage before you commit. Published prices are not given; the plan explains what your case includes.
Keep exploring
Related treatments
Smile designDigital smile designHow the new smile is planned against your face.LaboratoryCreative Art Dental LabWhere the wax-up is designed and printed.LaboratoryHow a Hollywood Smile is madeThe full sequence from scan to try-in.ConsultationSmile design consultationWhat happens at the first visit.GuideHollywood Smile without filingWhen minimal preparation is realistic.GuideTemporary veneersWhat you wear while the ceramic is made.
Book a consultation
Request a consultation
Tell us what you would like to change. The clinic replies within working hours with an appointment time.
- Address614 Jumeira St, Jumeirah 3, Umm Suqeim 1, Dubai
- Opening hoursClinic open daily, 10:00–20:00
- Phone+971 4 342 4444 · WhatsApp +971 56 677 7537
Book Your Consultation
Or call us +971 4 342 4444Or message us on WhatsApp
Talk to a dentist about your case
A consultation ends with a diagnosis and a written, itemised plan — not a sales pitch. Book online, message us on WhatsApp, or call the clinic.