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In the modern society, an attractive smile is very important. With the fast moving society, where time is essence, creating a good first impression will put good in a good position ahead of your competitors. An ugly set of teeth will give people a sloppy and poor image of your self. On the other, a bright attractive will give an image of confident, meticulous and and optimistic person. Nothing beats getting people to like you the instant you flash them with a winning smile. The concept of smile design for smile makeover has become and important component of treatment planning for the cosmetic dentist.
Anatomy of a Smile Design
 
From the above picture, it is obvious that a beautiful smile is a major component of the face. What constitutes a beautiful smile? The teeth must be white, well proportioned and straight. Moreover, there should not be too much gum showing ( gummy smile ) and the lips which frame the teeth must be well supported.
Key features of a smile.
There are certain guide lines a cosmetic dentist will use in order to plan for and create a dream smile for you
 
Facial Height
The face can be divided into 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 as shown by the picture above ( RED LINE )
This is the perfect proportion of a beautiful faces.
If the lower third of the face is less than 1/3, the facial aesthetic proportion is not optimal . The lower facial height can be increase with restorations at an increase vertical dimension or braces and/or jaw surgery.
The Lips
How the lips frame your smile when you speak or smile is very important part of facial aesthetics. Imagine the lips as a picture frame that frame a picture. People does not know that presence or absence of teeth, their position, shape and sizes all have a significant bearing on the lip support. Lack of teeth support will result in the lips dropping downwards and accentuates the wrinkle lines. The critical role of the cosmetic dentist is to determine the amount of lip support to eradicate those ugly wrinkles in others words, non surgical face lifts!!!
The midline
In the picture above, the face is divided into halves by the BLUE LINE which is the midline.
For optimal aesthetics, the upper central incisors midline must coincide with this midline. Sometimes, braces might be required to obtain the correct midline for the upper incisors.
Width of smile
Vertical lines ( RED LINE ) from the pupil of the eye to the corner of the mouth . This will be ideal width of the mouth on smiling. |
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Midline
In the picture on the left, the upper incisors midline is off. Braces will be required to correct the midline so as to have aaesthetically pleasing smile |
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The Teeth
1)Tooth length The front central incisors must be a bit longer as it will give you a youthful smile. Prominent central incisors tends to make a patient looks younger as short straight incisors are associated with wear and tear in old age |
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2) Tooth colour - whiter teeth are more attractive and makes you look younger. The central incisors should be the brightest while the canines should be a bit darker.
3) Tooth proportion The teeth must be well proportioned in order to look aesthetically pleasing. The ideal aesthetic proportion for teeth should be such that the lateral incisors are 2/3 the width of the central incisors. The canine should be 2/3 the width of the lateral incisors and so on . This is called the golden proportion of aesthetics.
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Tooth proportion
If the central incisors and lateral incisors are almost equal in size, the smile is not so aesthetic as the golden proportion of aesthetics is not observed. |
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Female teeth shapes Male teeth shapes
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4)Teeth shape and characterization
For females, teeth with more curving lines and shape will give a more feminine look. For males, straighter and more angular lines will enhanced the masculine look. |
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The Smile line
If an imaginary line is drawn along the edges of the upper teeth from one side of the mouth to the other, ideally the curve should be the same as in the lower lip. So in cosmetic dentistry, whether the final restorations are veneers or crowns or dentures, making the smile line symmetrical to the lower lip will result in optimal aesthetics. The aesthetic goal is that the patient‘s teeth looks well framed by the patient’s lips. This is an important consideration for good smile design.
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Straight or Flat incisors smile
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In the picture on the left, as a result of wear, the upper incisors appear as one straight line. The result is a smile that is older and poor aesthetics.
Treatment option:
The teeth can be lengthen with porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns. |
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Old Smile
When you smile slightly or speak, the front teeth should show slightly smile that shows very little or no teeth makes a person feel and look older than his or her real age.
The lips play a major role in how your face look like. They control facial expression and influence its beauty. So any change in the position of your teeth in the mouth by the cosmetic dentist, will determine your lip position.
Treatment option:
Treatment option The cosmetic dentist will take into account of your lip and the amount of teeth showing during the treatment planning stage. The final smile makeover which may consist of braces, veneers, crowns or even denture must have more teeth showing so as to make a person look younger. The cosmetic dentist will also ensure that your upper lip must also be well support so as to look younger with less wrinkles around the mouth.
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The Gums
The health and appearance of the gums are also an important component in a smile design. Too much gum showing (gummy smile ) or red, swollen,bleeding unhealthy gums can certainly marred a person smile, no matter how beautiful the teeth are. Bleeding gums can be due to many factors such ill fitting crowns, poor oral hygiene, genetic etc. A thorough evaluation and treatment by the periodontist (gum specialist ) is imperative.
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Healthy gums will look pink and flatter. This is even more important if the person has a shorter lip that exposes the gums on smiling. Pink aesthetics ( the gum ) is as important as white aesthetics
( the teeth ) . The cosmetic dentist will take into consideration the relationship between pink and white aesthetics during the smile design stage
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The Smile Profile
How you look like when resting, smiling or laughing as seen from the side or an angle is also an important consideration for your smile design. The cosmetic dentist will do a profile assessment of your smile especially the relationship of your upper incisors in relation to your lower lips.
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Protruding or buck teeth
Upper incisal edge touches the dry part of lower lip during rest, the teeth are considered sticking out and poor appearance. Treatment options to correct protruding teeth: Braces or crowning
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Instanding teeth.
Teeth that are leaning backwards are also not aesthetic as the lip is not supported.
Treatment option:
Braces or porcelain veneers to procline the upper incisors slightly.
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Ideal smile profile
Upper Incisors edges contacting the wet part of lower lip
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Are my large upper central incisors very unsightly ?
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Generally, unusually large central incisors are unsightly as they fail to conform to the golden proportion of aesthetics. There large incisors can be shaped smaller through enamel plasty or in some cases porcelain veneers is required to improve the shape and sizes.
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But in some cases, slightly larger central incisors, can be considered beautiful. Its quite common for models and actresses to desire slightly larger central incisors as they tend to make you look youthful and vibrant with a lot of personality.
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