Beauty is a power, and a smile is its sword.
Everyone desires a healthy and beautiful smile. Our teeth play a significant role in first impressions with others. Additionally, in our rapidly evolving and digitalizing world, most of us find ourselves in front of screens. We share close-up videos and selfies of our faces, making our smile the most important accessory. Perfect teeth revealed when we smile help us appear healthier and more captivating.
Our patients frequently visit our clinic, expressing a desire to change their smile and achieve more vibrant, bright, and striking teeth. From young to middle-aged and older individuals, we discuss and implement smile aesthetics with patients of all ages.
How can we achieve smile aesthetics?
There are many personalized methods to enhance smile aesthetics. Orthodontics, teeth whitening, composite bonding, implant treatments, and smile design are some of the ways to achieve a captivating smile. Additionally, procedures such as Botox applications, dermal fillers, mesotherapy, bichectomy, and minor lip or cheek surgeries (e.g., creating dimples) support the facial design.
When is smile aesthetics needed?
- Broken, cracked, or worn teeth
- Large, discolored old fillings in the front teeth
- Discolored teeth
- Gaps between teeth, known as diastema
- Short teeth that aren’t visible while talking or smiling
- Teeth that are disproportionately large, long, or protruding compared to lips and face
- Missing teeth in the front area
- Crooked teeth
- Lip and cheek posture irregularities or deficiencies
- Misalignments in the face and jaw arch
These factors negatively impact our smile, necessitating aesthetic corrections. With our teeth and smile, we make our life more beautiful! Designing a personalized smile makes it easier to achieve perfect teeth.
What is smile design, and what are its stages?
Smile design involves the measurements and analyses done to achieve a healthy and beautiful smile. It is about designing the desired smile from the start. Smile design is a process aimed at ensuring harmony between the patient's teeth, mouth, and facial aesthetics. For better understanding, let’s divide it into three stages:
Evaluation Stage
In this phase, harmony between the patient and the dentist is crucial. A dentist who does not understand the patient or a patient who cannot express their desires will not yield good results. An experienced dentist should guide the patient by asking questions and showing examples to understand their dream smile.
After mutual discussions, intraoral and facial photographs are taken. Oral impressions are obtained. A panoramic X-ray is taken to determine the necessary treatments.
A smile design is then prepared, considering factors such as tooth color, size, shape, lip position, smile line, the amount of visible pink gums, face shape, and even the person’s character traits.
Approval of the Design
Once the design is ready in the model, it is applied to the mouth using a silicone template. By testing the design in the mouth, the most suitable tooth length and forms for the face are determined. At this stage, adjustments such as extensions, shortening, or modifications are made to achieve the ideal smile.
Treatment Implementation
Although our focus is on aesthetics, oral health remains our top priority. Therefore, we first check and treat dental and gum health. The foundation work is the most critical part to ensure the longevity of the prosthetic work.
At this stage, treatments like fillings, root canals, and extractions are performed to ensure a solid and healthy foundation for the teeth. If necessary, procedures like gum leveling and gum health treatments are done to achieve pink aesthetics. For these, we utilize diode lasers and electrocautery devices in our clinic.
Once the treatment stages are complete, we proceed to apply the chosen aesthetic materials to the teeth.
Porcelain laminate veneers, E-max crowns, and zirconium crowns are among the restorative materials we frequently use today. With their thin and highly translucent properties, these materials create teeth that are shiny, radiant, and close to natural. When done correctly and with proper care, they can last for years.
The completion time for these procedures typically ranges between 1-2 weeks.
In today’s world, a perfect smile creates a positive impact.
The shape, color, and quality of our teeth convey health and confidence to others. If you’re not satisfied with your smile when you look in the mirror, consult your dentist to achieve the smile of your dreams.
What Should Be Considered in Smile Design?
- Patient’s age
- Patient’s gender
- Tooth shape and size
- Face shape
- Lip shape
- Presence of nasal deviation
- Tooth midline
- Gum health
- Gum levels (pink aesthetics)
- Vertical dimension (jaw closure)
- Presence of bruxism (teeth grinding)
- Lower lip line
- Smoking habits
- The concept of visagism
All these factors are evaluated to determine a smile design that aligns with the golden ratio.
The golden ratio is a reference value existing in nature, often utilized in aesthetic procedures. It is a measurement method that ensures creating ideal teeth proportions, particularly in terms of width-to-length ratio, which is visually pleasing.
What Are the Types of Smile Design?
Smile design is personalized but generally includes popular tooth shapes and smile types. While assessing our patients’ desires and expectations, we also review these ready-made smile types together to better understand each other and achieve the most suitable design.
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Intellectual Smile (Sophisticated Smile)
A design that gives the person a mature and knowledgeable appearance. It is typically preferred by middle-aged and older individuals. -
Sporty Smile (Sporty Smile)
Achieved by making the central incisors longer than the lateral incisors. It is a commonly preferred design style. -
Attractive Smile (Sexy Smile)
Frequently preferred by women, it is generally achieved by making the front teeth longer than the others.
Smile Design Based on Personality!
A popular concept in recent years is “Visagism.”
What does this mean? It refers to designing a smile that matches a person’s character and temperament.
Designing a smile tailored to one’s profession, social status, and personality increases satisfaction. By combining tooth color, shape, length, and harmony with the face under the concept of visagism, it becomes easier for the individual to embrace and feel the teeth are truly their own.
For instance, if a person in a managerial role with an authoritative, disciplined, and strict demeanor is given rounded, dynamic teeth, they may appear more sympathetic. However, such a design might not align with their character and could cause dissatisfaction, even if it is aesthetically pleasing. Providing straighter and sharper teeth would better reflect their personality and result in a more suitable smile.
Similarly, for a cheerful, warm, and energetic female patient, creating more rounded, triangular shapes or slightly varying the lengths of the front teeth could result in a more captivating and unique smile that feels personal to them.
What Is Digital Smile Design and How Is It Done?
The stages of smile design are conducted digitally.
During the first consultation:
- The patient’s teeth are digitally measured using a 3D intraoral scanner.
- Photographs are taken from appropriate angles in a photo studio.
- Examples from the tooth library and previous cases are shown to the patient, and suitable tooth models are selected.
Using the Apple intraoral scanner, the planned smile design is digitally prepared and shown to the patient to visualize the final appearance after treatment. This digital template is printed in 3D using acrylic resins. The model is applied to the mouth using the mock-up method, and feedback is gathered.
In the following session:
- Necessary treatments are performed.
- Digital measurements of the teeth are taken again with a 3D intraoral scanner.
- Temporary teeth are applied to the patient.
In the final appointment:
- Custom-made crowns are tested.
- After obtaining the patient’s approval, the teeth are adhered permanently.
- Following treatment, dental health is monitored through regular dental check-ups.
How Many Sessions Does Digital Smile Design Take?
At M.Y.Dental Clinic, we aim to manage the process efficiently. By planning in advance and maintaining communication, we can complete the design and production in 2-3 sessions.