Smile Design and Digital Dentistry

After the necessary measurements are made on the first inspection day and the design is made in the computer environment, it may take a few days to create the temporary molds. The duration of the permanent application of the digital smile design to the patient’s mouth varies according to the planned treatments.

1. First of all, a detailed intraoral examination is performed on the patient. Unhealthy conditions related to the mouth and teeth are determined. These are conditions such as rotten teeth, gum diseases, tooth deficiencies, tooth crowding. In determining these situations, radiological images, that is, x-ray techniques, are also used. In addition, intraoral camera imaging and measurements taken from the patient’s mouth are other methods used.
2. In order to determine the patient’s facial profile and dimensions, photographs are taken and transferred to the computer environment. The anatomical features and dimensions of the patient such as lip thickness, nose distance, eye shape are determined with special software on these photographs, and the dimensions that the teeth should be after treatment are determined according to these.
3. Different face shapes require different planning. For example, a person with an oval face shape and a person with more angular facial features cannot have teeth in the same image. For this reason, factors such as the general shape of the face and the appearance of the jaw tip are important in determining the shape of the teeth after treatment. Factors such as the patient’s age, gender, skin color also affect the smile design made.
4. The expectations and wishes of the person regarding his/her appearance are also taken into consideration while planning.
5. After the necessary determinations and plans are made, the image of the patient at the end of the treatment is approximately created in the computer environment and a temporary mold with this image is obtained on the jaw models obtained with the measurements taken from the patient.
6. The prepared mold is applied on the teeth. At these stages, no treatment is applied to the teeth and the teeth are not damaged.
7. The points to be changed on the applied temporary formwork are replanned. If these changes are too much, a digital smile design is made again and a new temporary pattern is obtained. After the treatment plans are clarified, the temporary mold is removed from the mouth. After this stage, the planned treatments are started to be carried out sequentially.
8. Hygienic treatments such as gum treatment, filling and root canal treatment are performed first. The teeth that need to be extracted are extracted.
9. Sometimes, if there are perplexities in the teeth that distort the appearance, these are removed with orthodontic treatment, that is, wire treatment.
10. If the patient has missing teeth and implant treatments are planned, the next step is to make the implants. If there are other planned surgical procedures, they are also performed at this stage.
11. After the healing phase of implants and other surgical procedures is over, whitening treatments are applied to the existing teeth if deemed necessary.
12. At the end of these stages, aesthetic prosthesis applications are started. Porcelain is the most important prosthetic material in aesthetic dental applications.
13. 13. While porcelain is sometimes used with zirconium or metal support in the back areas, it is sometimes used alone in areas where aesthetics is more important.
14. Porcelain laminates, which do not require or can be performed with very little abrasion, are preferred, especially in the anterior region, in order not to damage healthy teeth. These prostheses are prepared in accordance with the shapes, colors and sizes previously planned with digital smile design.
15. Apart from dental procedures, if needed, a smile is also shaped with the help of botox and dermal fillings. Some disproportions in lip and chin shape are eliminated by these methods. These applications are also made in accordance with the image planned in the digital smile design and calculated by using the golden ratio.

Digital smile design can be made for anyone who is not satisfied with their smile and teeth and wants changes in this regard. However, in the presence of excessive irregularities in the tooth alignment, for example, if one or more teeth are in a position to prevent the correct placement of the temporary mold, it may be more appropriate to design a digital smile after these problems are resolved , since the mold made will not be able to fully reflect the end of the treatment.

The biggest benefit of digital smile design is that the image to be obtained at the end of treatments and aesthetic interventions can be predicted from the very beginning of the process. The patient’s ability to see the result from the beginning and shape the change in desire prevents any surprises at the end of the treatment. In this way, patient satisfaction can be increased to a much higher level.