Smile designing

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder- Margaret Hungerford. A smile has been said to be one of the most important interactive communication skill of person. The ultimate objective of aesthetics in dentistry is to create a beautiful smile, with teeth of pleasing inherent proportion to one another and a pleasing tooth arrangement in harmony with the gingiva, lips and face of the patient. Patients now demand not only a healthy mouth but also a perfect smile. The smile, which represents the most primitive form and the essence of human communicative ability, appears early in life in young children. Smiles and later facial expressions express transient feelings and emotions. Esthetic Dentistry demands attention to the patient’s desires and treatment of patients desires and treatment of patient’s individual problems. Goldstein states “Esthetic dentistry is the art of dentistry in its purest form”. The purpose is not to sacrifice the function but to use it as a foundation of esthetics. Through technological advances, it is now possible to enhance and strengthen the health and function of a patient's appearance and smile conservatively. The true understanding of all aspects of comprehensive esthetic/cosmetic dentistry and the integration of the philosophical triad of "health, function and beauty" will assist the dentist in providing optimal dental care.