Although the solution to problems such as toothache, bad breath and tooth loss comes to mind when it comes to oral care, smile aesthetics related to teeth and gums also have a very important place today. Aesthetic problems resulting from decayed teeth, gingival diseases, irregularities in tooth alignment, abnormal coloration and tooth loss can negatively affect people’s social lives. In addition to this, it may even cause people to start to refrain from laughing in public by causing lack of self-confidence.
Even though the person sometimes has healthy teeth, he/she may want to improve the disproportion of teeth and gums, shape or deformities in an aesthetic sense. It will also make an impression.
With the advancement of technology and scientific studies, more beautiful smiles can be achieved with many methods, and the concept of “aesthetic dentistry” is more common in our lives.
What is smile design?
One of the first concepts that comes to mind when it comes to aesthetic dentistry is “smile design”. Smile design is the process of making teeth and gums look as natural and beautiful as possible, taking into account the face shapes and needs of the patients. Smile design, which is a multidisciplinary approach, is carried out by applying many processes together.
Which processes does smile design involve?
As the aesthetic requirements of each patient will be different, the procedures to be performed are determined individually. While determining these procedures, the patient; Factors such as facial features, gender, age and expectations are taken into account.
First of all, existing decayed teeth and gum diseases are treated, and tooth cleaning procedures are applied. Afterwards, procedures are determined according to the needs of the patients. These transactions are generally; They can be counted as gingival aesthetic interventions called gingivectomy, teeth whitening (bleaching) methods, compensation of tooth deficiencies with implant and prosthesis applications, porcelain laminates and coatings, zirconium coatings and orthodontic treatments (wire treatment).
How to Smile Design?
In smile design, it is very important to understand the aesthetic expectations of the patient correctly and to determine the needs correctly. Problems are determined and plans are made on the models prepared by means of the measurements taken from the patient’s mouth. Then, measurements are made with the intraoral and facial photographs of the patients using special programs in the computer environment and the fit to the face shape is calculated. The most approximate images that will occur after the treatment are presented to the patient with programs and temporary restorations prepared in accordance with the original in the patient’s mouth, and their opinions are taken.
After the planning is completed, if orthodontic treatment is not needed, first of all, the level disorders in the gums are arranged. In cases where tooth deficiencies are found, the planned implant procedures and other surgical applications deemed necessary are performed. After the recovery periods of surgical applications are completed, teeth whitening procedures are applied if needed. After this stage, the visual and formal defects in the teeth are sometimes removed by means of aesthetic composite fillings. In cases where this method is not sufficient, porcelain laminates and veneers and zirconium veneers come into play. For porcelain laminate applications, either no or minimal abrasions are performed on the teeth. If porcelain or zirconium applications are deemed appropriate, some changes can be made by taking the patient’s ideas again in the rehearsals made during the stages. During all these gingival and dental applications and rehearsals, lip shape and contour are also taken into consideration and the targeted design is finalized.
Sometimes, medical aesthetic applications are also used during smile design. Dermal filling on the lips and face areas, etc. smile can be brought to the fore with applications.
