The importance of laboratory communication in modern dental practice: stone models without faces.

The development of advanced communication technology has enabled clinicians and ceramists to deliver improved dental care to their patients. This article highlights the importance of communication between the clinician, laboratory technician, and patient for the fabrication and delivery of aesthetic restorations. The use of stone models, photography, shade prescriptions, and occlusal relationships is demonstrated as a means to achieve this objective. These principles are illustrated in the restoration of a patient who presented for aesthetic enhancement of the anterior maxilla.