The Lab Behind Your Veneers and Crowns
A small ceramics studio in West Hollywood, California, builds every veneer and crown for Overland Park Dental Design by hand, layer by layer. Dr. Patrick B. Lillis, DDS, has worked with the same ceramist for more than a decade, and the practice designs and 3D prints your temporaries in its own lab in Overland Park.
That combination is why the final teeth match the temporaries you already wore and approved, and why they look like teeth instead of a matched set.
- The same ceramist for more than ten years
- Ceramic built up by hand, layer by layer
- Designs back from California in about half an hour
- Models and temporaries printed in the office
- Kansas City fees for work made in West Hollywood
Hand-layered ceramic vs high-volume lab work
Most dental labs mill crowns and veneers from a single block of ceramic in one shade, while a ceramist builds a layered restoration by hand in stages that copy how a natural tooth forms.
| Compare | Hand-layered ceramic | High-volume milled ceramic |
|---|---|---|
| How it's made | Built up by hand in separate layers, each fired and cooled | Cut by machine from one block, often stained on the surface |
| Color | Varies from the gumline to the edge, the way enamel does | Mostly one shade throughout |
| Translucency | Light passes through the edges like real enamel | More opaque |
| Who makes it | A ceramist who works on one case at a time | A production line |
| Turnaround | Slower | Faster |
| Cost | Higher | Lower |
Where your ceramic is made
Your veneers and crowns come from a small studio in West Hollywood, California, with five or six technicians who work only on high-end ceramic.
The studio doesn't advertise and chooses which dentists it works with. It builds ceramic for cosmetic practices in Beverly Hills, and it builds every veneer and crown for this practice. That choice is about the dentists the studio partners with. Every patient here gets their ceramic from the same studio.
“They're getting the same ceramics that people in Los Angeles pay a fortune for, and they're getting it in Kansas City for Kansas City prices.”
How layered ceramic is built
A layered crown or veneer copies the structure of a natural tooth, with a denser inner layer like dentin, a more translucent outer layer like enamel, and fine surface detail on top.
The framework
The ceramist starts with the core of the restoration, shaped to the design you approved.
The dentin layer
The inner layer carries most of the tooth's color. The ceramist adds it by hand, fires it and lets it cool.
The enamel layer
The outer layer adds translucency, especially at the biting edge, where real teeth let light through. The ceramist fires and cools it again.
Characterization and glaze
The ceramist adds the small details that make a tooth look real, such as subtle color changes and surface texture, then glazes it.
“My technician is two things. He's not cheap, and he's not fast. He's not fast because he builds the ceramic in layers.”
The lab in our office
The practice runs its own 3D printing lab in Overland Park, which is how you see and wear your new teeth first.
After your records and exam, your case goes to the design team the practice works with in California, and the design file typically comes back within about half an hour. Dr. Lillis prints models from it on the office's 3D printers and turns the design into temporaries you wear and live with.
If something about the temporaries isn't right, the design changes at that stage. Once you approve them, the ceramist builds the final restorations to match.
“They leave with the same design that they saw on the computer. The final restorations are a replica of the temporaries.”
The studio in West Hollywood develops printing and scanning workflows with SprintRay, a 3D printing company in Los Angeles, so new techniques tend to reach this office early.
Why the bite matters as much as the ceramic
Beautiful ceramic still chips or cracks if the bite overloads it, so Dr. Lillis plans how your teeth meet first.
Layered ceramic looks the most natural, and it depends on a well-planned bite to hold up over the years. That's why every case here starts with records of your bite, jaw joints, and muscles, and why the temporaries you wear also test how the new teeth function.
“Function is always first. Cosmetics will be a byproduct of proper function.”
A dentist who started at the lab bench
Dr. Patrick B. Lillis started learning how dental restorations are made when he was just 13.
He worked in his grandfather's dental laboratory, waxing and casting restorations by hand. That early experience still shapes the way he evaluates crowns, implants, and complex restorative work today.
He later completed a two-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at the UMKC School of Dentistry.
Dr. Lillis opened Overland Park Dental Design in 2004 and continues to lecture and collaborate with other dentists through Seattle Study Club.
He brings both a dentist's perspective and a technician's eye to the details that make a restoration look, feel, and function as it belongs.
What this lab makes for patients
The studio and the in-office lab make every ceramic restoration at the practice:
What patients say
5.0 on Google · 32 reviews
Their team is detail oriented. You don't leave their office unless everything is perfect. I had major dental work performed. Since then I've received numerous compliments from family, friends & strangers about my new smile.
I've been to a number of dentists over the years. This past year I had to have some major work done. Since it affected my smile, I really wanted a top-level dentist on the job. I also have extreme anxiety about having impressions made like when you need a crown.
First let me say that all the staff at Overland Park Dental Design. are friendly and helpful. Dr. Lillas is truly a top-tier highly skilled dentist with a support team to match. They also have some type of 3d scanning software that means I didn't have to have traditional impressions which was incredible.
My teeth look perfect and the process was super smooth and painless!
I highly recommend Overland Park Dental Design!
I was sent to Dr. Lillis by referral to fix a crown that I was told was not fixable. Not only did Dr. Lillis listen to all of my concerns but he was able to fix what others could not in a timely manner and with the utmost regard to detail and perfection. I honestly CANNOT say enough good things about this office. Every single staff member as well as Dr. Lillis himself have exceeded my expectations in all areas of care!!!! I highly recommend Dr. Lillis for all your dental needs.
Lab questions
What is a dental ceramist?
A dental ceramist is a technician who builds porcelain veneers, crowns and bridges by hand from a dentist's design. The best ceramists layer the porcelain so the color and translucency match natural teeth.
Why do some veneers look fake?
Usually because they're one flat shade, too white and too uniform for the face, or designed from a photo instead of a bite. Layered ceramic, a design sized to your face and temporaries you approve first avoid all three.
Why does layered ceramic take longer?
Each layer goes on by hand and has to fire and cool, one at a time. A production lab skips those stages to turn work around faster.
Can I preview my new teeth?
Yes. You see the design on screen, then wear it as 3D-printed temporaries. The final ceramic matches the temporaries you approved.
Does lab work from Los Angeles cost more?
No. You pay this practice's fees, which are set for Kansas City.
Book a consultation in Overland Park
If you've put off veneers or crowns because you've seen work that looks fake, the consultation shows you how Dr. Lillis would design your teeth, what they'd look like, and what they cost.
Overland Park Dental Design, Patrick B. Lillis, DDS4601 West 109th Street, Suite 318, Overland Park, KS 66211
(913) 451-7330