An Alternative to the Motivational Mockup
Can you cut cost and chair time without losing case acceptance?
Yes. And the math is the easy part.
What is the motivational mockup actually for?
The waxup exists for one reason: to show the patient what's possible. It's a communication tool dressed up as a clinical step. But as it is made on top of teeth and tissue, it has little value unless the case is 100% additive. And let's face it. How many fully additive cases do you see? I would say they are so rare that we can call them "unicorns".
Here's what that communication costs you.
The traditional workflow 🫤
- Appointment 1: scans and photos. ~1 hour of chair time.
- Lab: technician builds the waxup. 1-2 hours of work. €150–170 in Europe.
- Print: 30–60 minutes. ~€20 in materials.
- Appointment 2: silicone key, Bizacryl, frontal shot for the before/after. ~1 hour, plus consumables.
That's four hours and close to €200 before anyone has agreed to treatment. If the patient wants changes, you loop the whole thing again. And because most of that cost lands on the patient, it becomes a decision point long before the treatment plan does. A bottleneck you built yourself.
The Smilecloud workflow 🥳
Appointment 1: Start with a good portrait. While the patient waits in the lobby with a coffee, you design on your phone, laptop, or iPad. You bring them back in, walk through it together, and edit in real time until they see themselves in the result.
Same outcome. Often a better one, because the patient is in the room while it's being shaped, not reacting to a finished object days later.
What you actually saved
- 4 hours of clinical and lab time → minutes.
- ~€200 in lab and materials → close to zero.
- 1 appointment instead of 2.
- No financial commitment from the patient before they've said yes.
If they say yes, you move straight into Blueprint and keep the momentum. If they say no, you've lost almost nothing, and neither have they.
That's the shift: communication stops being a cost centre and starts being the first step of the dialogue.