Smile Design
Smile design brings dentistry and art together to create a smile tailored to your face. First, a healthy smile plan is drawn up based on your personal wishes and your dentist’s recommendations. Smile design is planned according to your age, gender, face shape, profession and personality. The most important aspect of smile design is that your smile is rebuilt while preserving your health and natural appearance. At the start of the process, the geometric shape that best matches your facial contours is determined, because the lines of a person’s face provide the clues to what shape the teeth should have. Male and female anatomy are completely different. In women, the transitions are softer, and the bridge of the nose and the brow ridges are less prominent. In men, the facial lines are sharper and more defined, and the proportions of the forehead, nose and chin differ from those of women. In women, the corners of the teeth are softer and the two central teeth are longer than the teeth beside them. There are also tiny gaps between the corners of neighbouring teeth, and the smile line curves upwards. In men, the outlines of the teeth are more defined and neighbouring teeth appear straighter. The smile line is also flatter in men than in women. With smile design, you too can achieve teeth that are healthier in every respect.
How many types of smile are there?
Smiles are generally divided into three types: the attractive smile, the intellectual smile and the sporty smile. For an attractive smile, the front teeth need to be noticeably longer than the side teeth. Designing your front teeth this way gives you a youthful, dynamic and attractive smile. An intellectual smile requires teeth that line up along a straight line; this smile gives your face a mature and knowledgeable expression. For a sporty smile, the central incisors should be only slightly longer than the lateral incisors. This smile will give you a sincere, distinctive and warm expression.
What does smile design aim to achieve?
Smile design aims to address tooth discolouration, one or more teeth sitting out of line or in the wrong position, gaps caused by missing teeth, gums that are not at the correct level, a disproportionate amount of visible teeth and gum, tooth lengths that do not harmonise with the lips, and the aged look caused by sunken cheeks and lips due to missing teeth. Since all of these problems can spoil a patient’s appearance, smile design aims to correct them all.
Which treatments are used in smile design?
Smile design is determined by the position and condition of the teeth. Treatments include lengthening or shortening teeth, correcting tooth shape, thinning or building up teeth depending on their position, correcting gaps at the gum line, smoothing the tooth surface, and shaping the corners, such as squaring, pointing, rounding and filing.
What factors influence smile design?
Factors taken into account when creating a personalised smile design include age, gender, lips, facial features, skin tone, tooth alignment and gums.
How many sessions does smile design take?
Once the treatment has been planned based on the patient’s existing teeth and oral health, the number of sessions will be determined accordingly. Treatment may be completed in a single session or may take several weeks.