Rudiments Of Smile Designing

A comprehensive treatment plan is incomplete without an esthetic analysis/ smile design defining the end point of the treatment. An organized systematic approach is required to evaluate, diagnose and resolve esthetic problems predictably. The ultimate goal is to achieve pleasing composition in the smile by creating an arrangement of various esthetic elements. This article reviews the details of facial analysis and offers a step by step sequence for smile design to provide predictable, pleasing results.

Key words: Facial analysis, elements of smile designing, dental and soft tissue components and esthetic dentistry.

Esthetics in Dentistry:

Cosmetic or esthetic dentistry has become one of the main areas of dental practice emphasis and growth for several years. Increasingly, patients seeking treatment for their oral condition with the primary concern of an esthetic enhancement ³. In social interactions, our attention appears mainly on mouth and eyes of the face of the person speaking. As the mouth is the centre of communication in the face, the elegant appearance of the oral region during smiling is a conspicuous part of facial attractiveness. The last 50 years have witnessed an unimaginable amount of changes in dentistry. Human esthetics implies a sense of beauty, a pleasing impulse, naturalness, and a youthful appearance relative  to  one’s  age.  The  treatment  should  be  really conservative which allow the patients future options as new technologies has developed¹.

Way’s to assess smile:

There are certain vital elements of smile designing which includes the following:

Vital Elements of Smile Designing: (Dental composition)

• Tooth components
• Dental midline
• Tooth dimensions
• Incisal length
  • Zenith points
• Axial inclinations
• Sex, personality and age
  • Incisal embrasures
• Symmetry and balance
  • Interdental contact area and Interdental contact points
• Soft tissue components
• Gingival health
• Gingival level
• Smile line
• Interdental embrasure

Esthetics has become increasingly important in the practice of modern dentistry. The demand for esthetic motivates the patient to seek dental treatment which is often dictated by cultural, ethnic and individual preferences. Dentistry has arbitrarily classified 3 types of smiles that, relating the height of the upper lip relative to the maxillary anterior central incisors which are referred to as low lip line, middle lip line, high lip line. The factors which govern the restoration of natural appearance for edentulous patients often discussed but frequently misunderstood. This dental art does not always occur automatically or are present in the nature, but is carefully incorporated into the treatment plan which creates an attractive smile which enhances the acceptance of an individual in our society.

CONCLUSION

From the above discussion, it is evocative that the smile we create should be esthetically appealing and functionally sound too. We the dentist should carefully diagnose, analyze and deliver the best to our patients by considering all the above factors. These concepts of smile designing are not new, but are too often overlooked in treatment planning. These dental, gingival and facial components of the smile should be considered not as rigid boundaries, but as artistic guidelines to help treat individual patients who are today, more than ever, highly aware of it.