Built by Design: A Documentary Series on the Craft Behind a Smile

Built by Design is a documentary series about the thinking behind a finished smile. Episode 1, filmed in Los Angeles, is streaming now on the Built by Design page.

Most people meet cosmetic dentistry through before and after photos. A photo shows a result. It does not show the decisions, the restraint, or the years of practice that made the result possible. This series exists to show that part.

Why we made it

Patients arriving for a consultation almost always ask the same underlying question, in different words: how do I know this will look like me? It is a fair question, and it is hard to answer with pictures alone.

So we filmed the process instead. How a shade is chosen against skin tone. How shape and proportion are drawn from the face rather than a catalog. How a bite is corrected before a single piece of porcelain is designed. Watching someone work tells you more about their judgment than any gallery can.

What Episode 1 covers

Episode 1 is set in Los Angeles and traces where the work comes from. Dr. Marashi talks about growing up in a family without means, building things out of nothing, and learning resilience through skateboarding from the age of twelve.

I see it before I even start, and that is how I approach dentistry. It is the artist looking at that block of marble, and he already knows what is inside of it, and now it is just chipping away the exterior to reveal what was always there in the middle.

That way of seeing runs through everything in the practice: color, shape and proportion, and the whole face read together rather than tooth by tooth.

What comes next

The series continues with episodes filmed in other cities, following the same thread of craft, teaching, and the standard behind the work. You can get notified when a new episode is out.

Watch Episode 1

Episode 1 is available now, with the full transcript on the same page for anyone who prefers to read.

Watch Built by Design, Episode 1

If watching the process raises questions about your own smile, a consultation is one hour, one on one with Dr. Marashi in Brentwood, and includes a custom written treatment plan. The fee is $475, flat and non-refundable, collected when you schedule. Book a consultation.