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1. Insights From an Educator Who is
Both a Dentist and a Ceramist
Christian Coachman, DDS

2. Christian Coachman, DDS, continues to inspire many
people in our profession. In this interview, find out
what inspires him, what he believes is the most
difficult thing in restorative dentistry, and what he
thinks will affect the future of dentistry.
Adapted from the full interview, which was published
in AACD’s Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry, Winter 2012
issue. For more information, visit www.aacd.com.
©2012-2014 American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, All Rights Reserved
©2014 Images Christian Coachman, DDS, All Rights Reserved

3. Who and what inspires your work and daily life to
achieve great “natural esthetics” like you do?
A: It is most important to have
good mentors, teachers, and
models to follow. Create a good
relationship with them, showing
motivation, respect, and humility.
The other important inspiration
comes from the patient, treating
them like a human being will help
you give them a better smile. Dr. Coachman with Willi Geller, one of his
mentors and sources of inspiration.

4. In your opinion, what are the major drawbacks of both the
metal-based and the metal-free approaches and how do you
work around them in the cases that you do?
A: Metal-free
restorations are the
future, although some
issues need to be
resolved. I do some
metal-ceramic
restorations, mainly on
implant screw-retained
restorations. When
creating single units and
small anterior bridges, my
choice is always metal-
free restorations.
Metal-free restorations showing ideal light
transmission.

5. What recommendations do you have to help minimize errors and
achieve the highest percentage of success in fabricating multiple
and single units ceramic with pleasing form and color?
A: On a single unit the
challenge is the color; on a full
upper case the challenges are
shape and design…A great
ceramist has a tri-dimensional
vision of the smile. Along with
creativity, intuition, and hands-
on skills to work with shapes
and arrangements becoming a
“smile designer.” As a
ceramist, I invest much more
time in designing a smile that
fits the patient’s facial features
and emotions.
Full upper
restored with
ceramic
veneers. On
these cases,
the main
challenge is
to create
ideal tooth
shape and
smile design.
Single-unit
ceramic
restoration
with its
specific
challenges of
matching
color and
texture.

6. You achieve amazing esthetic results even when working with
counterparts around the world. Can you share the communication
protocols and tools you utilize to get these results?
A: I had to develop
protocols and digital
communication became
the answer. Utilizing
software that can hold
patients’ images, videos,
notes, x-rays, and includes
the ability to draw lines to
better understand the
esthetic issues and
visualize the treatment
options to share. The key
is to have the ability to
communicate visually with
all team members.
A Digital Smile Design protocol helps with the esthetic
planning process and with long-distance team
communication.

7. What do you feel are some of the most innovative and new options
for dealing with ridge deformities and lost dimensions?
A: For patients who are
really looking for an
esthetic solution and for
whom more surgery is no
longer the best option, we
have been utilizing
artificial pink materials to
replace the missing soft
tissue. Developing a
technique that combines
pink ceramics with direct
pink composite to help me
blend in these types of
restorations.
The pink hybrid restoration is a good alternative for very
challenging ridge defect cases inside the esthetic zone.

8. To read this interview in full, log onto
www.aacd.com and check out the jCD
archives, Winter 2012 issue.
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