My Discovery of Digital Smile Design
By Steven A. Fishman, DDS, FADL, FICD
In July 2016, Pete, the manager of the dental lab I was working with, called me and asked, “Doc, have you heard anything about Digital Smile Design?” I hadn’t. Pete mentioned hearing about it at several recent lab meetings. Intrigued, I promised to research the subject. Later that week, I discovered Dr. Christian Coachman, the developer of DSD, was giving an introductory seminar on November 2nd at Roe Dental Laboratory in Independence, Ohio. I promptly signed us up.
As the seminar date approached, the Chicago Cubs ended their regular season, clinching the National League title on October 22nd. My hopes, like those of every Cubs fan, soared. The Cubs were heading to the World Series to face Cleveland, and the infamous Curse of the Billy Goat loomed large. After five games, the Cubs trailed Cleveland 3-2. On November 1st, the Cubs evened the series.
On the morning of November 2nd, Pete and I drove to Independence, Ohio. That night, the Cubs triumphed in Game 6, tying the series 3-3. The seminar began the next morning at 8:00 am. We attended, proudly wearing Cubs jerseys. At lunch, a dentist from Cleveland offered us extra tickets for the night’s deciding game. Without hesitation, I bought the tickets, and Pete and I witnessed the most historic Cubs game in 108 years.
November 2, 2016, became a doubly fateful day for me. Not only did I witness a life-changing Cubs victory, but I was also introduced to the career-altering concept of Digital Smile Design. Dr. Christian Coachman’s presentation covered the DSD diagnostic workflow, AI-driven smile design, and sequential treatment planning. As a restorative/prosthodontic dentist, I had spent 30 years focusing on diagnosis, collaborative treatment planning, and prosthetic design. Dr. Coachman’s elegant AI design process promised to make periodontal/prosthodontic work more predictable, accurate, and accessible to younger dentists.
At the seminar’s conclusion, Brian O’Neill, an oral surgeon from Toledo and founder of the Greater Black Swamp Study Club, approached me. He informed me that his group would bring two European dentists to share their DSD knowledge the following spring. The DSD torch had been lit, and I was determined not to let it die. I signed up immediately, and my high school daughters reluctantly accepted that Spring Break would be in Toledo.
The Toledo presentation featured Dr. An Nguyen from the Netherlands and Dr. Florin Cofar from Timisoara, Romania. They delivered as promised, solidifying my conviction to embrace DSD technology. Post-presentation, I approached Dr. Cofar about furthering my DSD education. He invited me to a summer course at his Timisoara clinic. In June, my family and I, along with my office manager’s family, traveled to Romania. Dr. Cofar’s course, attended by dentists from Europe and Asia, provided invaluable insights.
From these experiences, the concept of “Love Smile” was born. It merged my periodontal/ prosthodontic expertise with DSD’s innovative approach. Watching Game 7 of the World Series was unforgettable, but discovering DSD marked a professional turning point.
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