For Referring Dentists
Dr. Patrick B. Lillis, DDS, takes referrals for complex restorative cases in the Kansas City area: full mouth reconstruction, worn dentitions that need the vertical dimension opened, failed dental work, trauma cases, and interdisciplinary cases with an oral surgeon and orthodontist.
Referrals from general dentists, oral surgeons, periodontists, and orthodontists make up a large part of the practice, and many of the cases start as patients whose own dentist didn't want to leave it to chance.
Cases Dr. Lillis takes on
The practice focuses on cases where the diagnosis and the bite decide the outcome.
| Case type | What the referral usually looks like |
|---|---|
| Full mouth reconstruction | Multiple failing restorations, generalized breakdown, or a patient who wants the whole mouth planned at once |
| Worn dentition | Heavy wear from grinding or erosion, often with lost vertical dimension |
| Failed restorative work | Crowns, bridges or veneers that keep breaking, debonding or chipping |
| Trauma | Multiple teeth lost or broken in an accident, planned with an oral surgeon and orthodontist |
| Congenitally missing teeth | Space held through growth, then restored once the patient finishes growing |
| Esthetic cases | Veneers and crowns where the patient wants natural-looking teeth, not a matched set |
For service details, see full mouth rehabilitation, failed dental work and implant restorations.
How Dr. Lillis works up a case
Every case starts with a full set of records and a diagnosis of the whole system, because a plan built on a misread bite fails no matter how well the ceramic is made.
“We don't just look at one tooth. We look at the entire system. And that's their teeth. That's their airway. That's their jaw muscles. That's their joints.”
Records
Photographs, intraoral scans, radiographs, and a record of how the jaws move and the teeth meet, all captured digitally.
Diagnosis
Dr. Lillis diagnoses the case across the teeth, joints, muscles, and airway, then gives the patient a few treatment options with written costs.
Digital design
The case goes to the design team the practice works with in California, and the design file typically comes back within about half an hour.
Printed temporaries
Dr. Lillis prints models in the in-office lab and turns the design into temporaries the patient wears and approves. Dr. Lillis tests occlusion, phonetics, and esthetics here, while changes are still easy.
Final ceramic
A small ceramics studio in West Hollywood builds the final restorations by hand to match the approved temporaries.
Interdisciplinary cases
Dr. Lillis plans interdisciplinary cases with an oral surgeon and an orthodontist, and some of the practice's longest cases began as referrals from one of them.
One started when an oral surgeon referred a girl born without eight permanent teeth when she was about ten. The team held space for the missing teeth through her teens, and she received her implants once she had finished growing. She is an adult with a career now.
Why the diagnosis matters most
Nearly every failed case that reaches this office went wrong at the diagnosis, and fixing it starts there.
“Every case I fix goes right back to the diagnosis.”
Worn dentitions and cases that need the vertical dimension opened are the hardest in restorative dentistry. They demand precise records, careful preparation design, and an occlusion that holds, which is why this practice tests every design in temporaries first.
About Dr. Lillis
Dr. Patrick B. Lillis completed a two-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at the UMKC School of Dentistry, with training in complex restorative, implant, and reconstructive care. He has practiced in Overland Park since 2004.
His restorative perspective started much earlier. At 13, he was working in his grandfather's dental laboratory, waxing and casting restorations by hand.
Today, Dr. Lillis lectures to fellow dentists through Seattle Study Club and has developed coursework on practice leadership and the business of dentistry.
His background brings together clinical treatment, restorative design, and an understanding of the laboratory side of complex cases.
Refer a patient
Call the office at (913) 451-7330 to talk through a case with Dr. Lillis, or send the patient's information and any records you have. The office contacts the patient to schedule.
Overland Park Dental Design, Patrick B. Lillis, DDS4601 West 109th Street, Suite 318, Overland Park, KS 66211
(913) 451-7330