Digital Smile Design

Digital Smile Design includes the treatment planning, primarily in the digital environment , of the shape and colour disorders in patient's teeth using special smile design softwares. It includes also the presentation of this planning to the patient and the realization of the same of this planning using Cad-Cam systems, 3-D printers, dental lasers , prosthetic procedures etc. after the patient's approval.

Nowadays, the Digital Smile Design is a meeting point of the dentistry and the science of the esthetics with the advanced technology.

The Digital Smile Design procedure starts with the transfer of the patients's photographic records captured with the right formats. Thereafter, the dental shape and ratios suitable for the patients are determined considering the following patient's conditions:

• Gender
• Face type
• Age
• Lip structure
• Gingival contours
• The smile symmetry

The smile design software generates the virtual image of the final situation of the planned treatment according to the determined new tooth shapes and dental ratios.The necessary corrections are made on this image taking into the consideration the patient's requests and opinions.

The final digital smile design is transformed into real design, called Mock-up, using digital measurements or directly using Cad-Cam devices. Afterthat, the Mock-up design is transferred to the mouth and so the provisional teeth are fabricated. At this stage, the relationship between the face-lip and lower-upper teeth , tooth colors and shapes, gingival contours are re-evaluated detaily once again. After these evaluations, the necessary final adjustments are made on the Mock-up and the prosthetic procedures are started. The esthetic result obtained after this workflow is quite compatible with digital design and Mock-up.

Digital Smile Design allows to test many different types of teeth and colors on the computer without any application to the patient, taking the patient's opinion, and ultimately allowing to realize the treatment approved by the patient and the clinician.

Digital Smile Design can significantly reduce the possibility of the patient experiencing frustration with the tooth color and form after prosthetic procedures.

 

Software images have been used with written permission of Tasty Tech Ltd. (Canada).