What is Digital Smile Design?

Developing technologies today offer different solutions for all kinds of needs. The perception of beauty has varied from person to person for centuries, and it has also changed periodically and will continue to do so. When it comes to objectivity, we begin to swim in a sea full of surprises. Success comes with predictability and standardization.

There is a similar situation in aesthetic studies in dentistry. Is the doctor's perception of white the same as the patient's perception of white? What about naturalness, size, length, roundness? Do the same words visualize the same thing in everyone's eyes, make them think the same thing?

How wonderful that not everyone has the same imagination, not everyone has the same perception of beauty, but there is so much diversity and color in the world! While this situation used to create difficulties in treatment in the past, today technology has come to our rescue in this regard and Digital Smile Design programs have entered our lives.

So What is Digital Smile Design?

Sometimes, we can try out teeth models that the patient had never thought of in the program for seconds, allowing us to examine them from a different perspective. Who knows, maybe thanks to digital smile design programs, you will realize that the teeth you thought would suit your face are not right for you, and a model you had never thought of perfectly complements your style!

This predictability and communication established from the beginning prevents us from encountering surprises as a result of the treatment, prevents our patients from getting tired with additional sessions, from falling into despair, and prevents the doctor and technician from getting tired in vain for the wrong target. Because, as a result of the patient and doctor not making this clear plan together in advance, the extra sessions experienced in order to provide the desired aesthetics can cause both despair and fatigue in patients and fatigue and boredom from the smile design process, which is the favorite job of aesthetic dentists.

Thanks to digital smile design programs, the patient can easily explain his/her expectations from the treatment to the doctor and experience the comfort of being understood. Experiencing the excitement of the treatment in one go both provides the patient with the aesthetics they want and satisfies the doctor and technician with professional satisfaction.

What are the Stages of Digital Smile Design?

1. What are the Stages of Digital Smile Design?
2. Technical photographs are taken. Both the intraoral photograph with the lip retractor and the maximum smile photograph are taken without distorting the angle of the photograph.
3. Technical photographs are uploaded to the smile design program.
4. The smile line is marked on the program and introduced to artificial intelligence.
5. The positions and sizes of the teeth are determined.
6. Tooth shapes such as square, triangle and oval are given.
7. The structure and color of the tooth surface are selected.
8. Before and after photos are placed side by side.
9. The digital design made with the patient is evaluated, his/her wishes are listened to and a new plan is made based on the draft.
10. The design that the patient and the physician like and approve is sent to the technician.

What is the Process After Digital Smile Design?

After deciding on the shape, structure and color of the teeth, the requirements for adapting this desired smile to the mouth begin to be evaluated. The questions of “Is the most ideal method to achieve this smile porcelain laminate, emax crowns or a zirconia-supported prosthesis?” are answered. If the patient is ready financially and spiritually and has trust in the team, all that remains is for the doctor and technician to discuss the technical details, intraoral preparations, measurements and rehearsals. So can we say that the socks are ripped off?

Dr. İrem Sena Divanlıoğlu