Introducing Dr. Hannah Lee

Dr. Hannah Lee is a dentist based in Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea, with extensive clinical  experience in esthetic dentistry and veneer-based smile rehabilitation.

Among Korean clinicians,  she is sometimes described as an early pioneer—occasionally nicknamed the “originator of digital veneers.”

The expression reflects her long-term commitment to building a structured, repeatable digital veneer workflow and refining it through a high volume of clinical cases.

Her work in esthetic dentistry began in 1999. In the early 2000s, she treated a large number of esthetic cases, accumulating practical insight across a wide range of patient demands and anatomical conditions.

For Dr. Lee, success is not defined by appearance alone. Her core principle is conservative dentistry:  realizing the intended design while minimizing unnecessary tooth reduction.

She emphasizes that predictable outcomes depend on the precision of the entire workflow—from diagnosis and records to design, preparation, bonding, finishing, and long-term maintenance.

A distinctive element of Dr. Lee’s development is her deep involvement in the laboratory stage. In esthetic dentistry, one of the most frequent obstacles is the gap between what patients want and what is ultimately fabricated—a gap often caused by limitations in clinic–lab communication.

To reduce this mismatch, she performed wax-ups herself and participated directly in fabrication. This was a clinical strategy: defining the final target design first, then controlling the preparation boundaries to protect tooth structure while meeting the patient’s expectations.

Through this process, she recognized a critical reality: the “ideal” tooth forms preferred by clinicians or technicians do not always match what patients perceive as attractive, natural, and  confidence-enhancing.

Dr. Lee therefore developed design principles that incorporate facial dynamics—lip movement, phonetics, expression, and overall facial impression—rather than relying only on static morphology. These principles function as a practical framework that supports both patient satisfaction and minimally invasive preparation.

In 2007, Dr. Lee transitioned her veneer workflow to a digital approach. 

The move was not simply to increase speed, but to strengthen precision, reproducibility, and quality control.

Digitalization improved the accuracy of design communication, enhanced control over preparation limits, and enabled protocol standardization across fabrication, bonding, and finishing.

Through extensive clinical experience, she has continued to validate and refine this system, including cases where treatment can be completed in a single day when appropriate.

Now marking 30 years of clinical practice, Dr. Lee is committed to sharing her accumulated experience with other clinicians. Her aim is to move esthetic dentistry beyond “taste” and toward clear standards and repeatable processes that support safety and predictability for patients.

She welcomes international professional exchange through  case conferences,

short observation,  hands-on programs,

collaborative discussion on digital veneer workflows and communication strategies.

Clinical Focus Areas

• Conservative preparation guided by a defined target design

• Patient-preference-based smile design using facial dynamics

• Standardized digital veneer workflow from design to finishing

• Same-day completion protocols with clear case selection criteria

• Clinic–lab communication frameworks for design intent transfer

• Continuous refinement through high clinical volume and validation

Potential Collaboration Topics

• Case conferences and clinical reviews (record-driven analysis)

• Short observation or hands-on programs (prep, bonding, finishing)

• Digital design communication and approval workflows

• Patient preference analysis and design pattern discussion

• Protocol templates (checklists, records, consultation flow)

• Cooperative fabrication and reciprocal feedback on cases

Contact

Email: haruemakeover@gmail.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/dentisthanna

Website: www.harue.com