Innovative Smile Design Technique
Modern dentistry goes beyond simply fixing diseased or damaged teeth. Today’s technologies allow you to transform or refine your smile to one that fits your facial structure and enhances your features.
Smile design is an essential part of the smile makeover process. Advanced dental techniques and tools can create the most natural-looking yet elevated smile with precision treatment.
The smile design process involves key steps, from assessment and treatment planning to actual smile design and procedures. Each involves innovative techniques and tools to help create the perfect smile.
Smile design starts with an assessment. Your dentist will take some X-rays and other imaging to evaluate the health of your teeth and mouth and identify any issues that need treatment before starting with cosmetic procedures. Then, they move on to measurements, photographs, and impressions.
Tooth impressions help your dentist see the total shape of and connections between your teeth. Once upon a time, you would've bitten into plaster to create a mold of your teeth. While your dentist may still use plaster today, they can generate impressions much faster using an intraoral scanner.
As it sounds, this is a handheld device that goes inside your mouth. They can scan your teeth and produce a 3D digital impression of your tooth within seconds. It’s a quick and comfortable process and allows them to design your smile and plan your treatment with more accuracy.
Next, the dentist or technician will take some photos of your teeth, palate, face, and facial profile and may also take videos. These images help identify structural concerns, facial symmetry, and measurements.
Newer 4D technology involves placing sensors on your jaw to capture facial movement and smile motion. These newer tools provide additional, precise information to help design accurately.
Earlier versions of smile design used to involve manually or digitally drawing the ideal smile and placing it over your photo to visualize potential changes. Now, software simplifies this process.
Once the assessment is complete, the next step is to decide on the treatment plan. Based on these findings, your dentist will suggest the best action or any underlying issues to address.
Transforming and designing your smile comes with many options, depending on your needs. These might include:
After a treatment plan is in place, the design begins.
The actual smile design process involves computer-aided design (CAD) software or other digital tools. These solutions help easily measure, create, and adjust interventions with precision. Your dentist can catch and correct errors or issues before they even occur, lowering risks and increasing exactness.
After collecting the necessary data, your dentist can then design a smile. Newer, automated software will automatically assess the impressions and photos and suggest the appropriate modifications based on measurements, space, and facial contours.
However, your dentist will use expertise, experience, and some math to ensure the smile will suit your needs and goals. They’ll make sure height, spacing, and size are all accurate and proportionate and help you choose a tooth shade that matches your complexion.
In some cases, they may 3D-print a sample of the treatment to use as a mock-up. These can fit over 3D-printed digital impressions and give you an idea of what the final product will look like. Once satisfied, they’ll prepare for the dental work.
The final steps in smile design involve the actual treatment procedure. Depending on the dental techniques involved, you may need to wait a few days to weeks as the designs are sent to the lab for manufacturing. Then, your dentist will complete the procedure, creating a beautiful smile designed just for you.
Creating smiles is both an art and a science, and we do both at Sarko Dental. Book an appointment and take the first step to transforming your smile with cosmetic dental services and advanced smile design.
Call (480) 951-2782 or request an appointment online to set up your first visit. We’ll be in touch soon.
