6–7 November 2026 · Zagreb, Croatia
Designing Smiles with Coachman
Technology changes how we work, but not what makes a smile beautiful. Learn to bridge the gap between your clinical hands and your creative vision to design natural smiles, regardless of the tools you use.
The Problems You Will Solve With This Course
1
You look at a smile, you know something is wrong, but the exact reasons are not clear.
2
You don’t get from your lab the exact smile design you wanted. Not clear if the problem was your instructions or their lack of understanding.
3
Not having the skills to actually perform a smile design yourself, when needed. If it’s a direct mock up or a CAD project.
4
Getting work from the lab and having a hard time evaluating if it’s good enough, where are the problems and what are the necessary changes.
5
Not having a clear system to analyse work than by others and generating clear instructions of the necessary changes to minimise back and forth.
6
Not having the skills to change chair side mock ups, provisionals and final restorations. Every time work is not ideal, having to rely on others to improve it.
7
Having a hard time making patients understand that you are not only a great clinician but also a great smile designer. Patients taking your artistic skills for granted. Not generating differentiation as a smile designer.
The Missing Link in Restorative Success
You may have exceptional clinical skills, but if you cannot visualize and control the final result with precision, your hard work is often compromised. Lacking a structured smile design process creates three major clinical obstacles that undermine your restorative excellence:
The "Artificial" Trap
The patient’s primary measure of success is the visual outcome. Without artistic mastery of natural shapes and optical illusions, even technically perfect restorations can look bulky or fake, creating a painful disconnect between your clinical effort and the patient’s satisfaction.
Planning in the Dark
Treatment planning without a precise design reference is like building without a blueprint. It forces you to make decisions based on guesswork rather than clear visualization, increasing the risk of functional compromises and the need for stressful mid-treatment adjustments
The Communication Gap
If patients can’t see what you see, they can’t fully trust the destination. Failing to present a compelling visual design breaks the emotional link between the patient and the treatment plan, causing hesitation and a lack of confidence in your proposed solution.
Bridging the Gap in Natural Smile Design
Through hands-on in-person training and online learning, this course teaches everything you need to know about the smile design process to become a truly great modern smile rehabilitator.
Smile analysis & esthetic judgment
Ability to analyse smiles (pre-op, mock-ups, provisionals, and final restorations) and determine what is visually harmonious or uncomfortable based on esthetic principles and norms.
Translating analysis into instructions for the Lab / Designer
Ability to convert smile analysis into clear, actionable instructions for dental technicians or digital designers.
Performing smile design projects (analog or digital)
Ability to convert smile analysis into clear, actionable instructions for dental technicians or digital designers.
Evaluating smile designs created by others
Ability to assess, control, and manage smile designs produced by technicians or designers using structured systems and checklists.
Communicating corrections and managing designers
Ability to provide effective feedback so others can accurately execute changes and improvements.
Performing smile design adjustments personally
Manual and digital dexterity to identify needed improvements and execute them directly (software, models, or intraorally).
Patient communication in smile Design
Ability to communicate with patients—listening, interpreting desires, explaining options, and building confidence.
Course Director & Speaker
Christian Coachman
DSD Founder, Christian Coachman, is going back to his smile design roots to share with you his 20 years’ experience as a dentist, technician and smile architect.
Before founding Digital Smile Design, Christian traveled the world as a master dental ceramist, working alongside some of the best dentists in the world to design their patients’ smiles.
Through this course, Christian will share everything he has learned over the years as a high-end dental ceramist and digital dental lab owner to help dental professionals improve their smile design skills for better communication between clinician and lab.
- TWO DAYS
Course Program
Nov 6th
Friday
Registration and coffee
Class 1
- The Why. Smile Design Competencies & 7 Core Tasks
- Planning guided by Smile Design
Lunch
Class 2
- The How. Smile Design Concepts
- Dento-Facial Guidelines and the Smile Frame in 10 steps
- Smile Frame drawing exercises hands-on
Coffee Break
Class 3
- Dento-Gingival Guidelines
- Dento-Gingival drawing exercises hands-on
Nov 7th
Saturday
Welcome coffee
Class 4
- Dentist-Lab synergy. High performance restorative workflow.
- Visual Asynchronous Communication Platform. The future of communication.
- Proactive Quality Management System.
- Smile Design quality control check lists.
Lunch
Class 5
- Overcoming Compromises Restoratively. From Good to Great with Optical Illusion. Part 1.
Coffee Break
Class 6
- Overcoming Compromises Restoratively. From Good to Great with Optical Illusion. Part 2.
Party @Bornstein wine club