3 minute read

If you’re considering a cosmetic dentistry treatment to enhance the appearance of your smile, it’s important that you discuss your desires with your dentist  and that you have realistic expectations of what can be achieved.

Advances in dental technology are helping to close the gap in expectations between what a patient wants and what a patient gets. Digital Smile Design (DSD) is an innovative treatment planning tool developed by dentist Christian Coachman that allows patients to co-plan their new smile with their dentist and to preview accurate end results for a range of cosmetic dentistry treatments.

Our dentists in Mount Lawley offer Digital Smile Design for porcelain veneers, crowns and full mouth rehabilitation. This innovative software allows our patients to take a more active role in planning their own treatment. Here are 5 key things to know about this breakthrough technology and how the smile design process works.

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1. Design and preview your own smile

Experienced dentists know how to plan a smile makeover for minimally-invasive and natural-looking results, but communicating your preferences for a dentist to understand has always been somewhat of a challenge in the past. Digital Smile Design allows patients to participate more fully in treatment planning by test-driving their new smile and seeing how they might look.

After designing your personalised smile using DSD software, your dentist will prepare a 3D printed trial smile based on digital impressions of your mouth so you can try on your new smile ahead of treatment and make any final adjustments needed.

2. Improves accuracy and results

Digital Smile Design software is capable of more precise analysis of individual facial and dental features than conventional diagnostic tools. This meticulous treatment planning lowers the risk of clinical errors and complications arising from cosmetic dental procedures, which in turn can reassure patients and improve their comfort, safety and satisfaction with the procedure and final results.

As well as improving communication between dentists and patients, DSD also provides detailed instructions on patient preferences and expectations that can be useful for other practitioners involved in the treatment, including lab technicians and ceramists designing custom dental restorations.

3. Considers all characteristics of a smile

This highly customisable design tool was developed by and for dentists with a thorough knowledge of the principles of smile design. This allows dentists and patients to address the many aspects that make up a smile, including facial symmetry, the size and shape of teeth and the ratio of teeth and gums visible in the 'display zone.'

The software algorithm will make suggestions for optimal results, but the art of smile design is about more than mathematics alone. Working in coordination with the patient, a skilled dentist will ensure that their modified smile works in harmony with their all facial characteristics, such as their smile expressions, lip and gum framework and their unique personality.

4. Corrects a wide range of cosmetic issues

Digital Smile Design can be used to address a number of aesthetic concerns with teeth using customised dental crowns or porcelain veneers. This may include:

• rebuilding damaged or worn teeth
• crown lengthening or reshaping
• straightening crooked or misaligned teeth
• closing wide or uneven spaces
• covering stains or discolouration
• full mouth rehabilitation

Depending on your needs, a smile makeover may also incorporate other cosmetic or corrective treatments such as teeth whitening, gum recontouring or teeth straightening with braces or clear aligners in order to achieve your desired results.

5. Requires additional training

Digital Smile Design can be a valuable aid to dentists and patients, but it requires additional training and expertise in the field of aesthetic and restorative dentistry to use the technology successfully. Dentists must complete a course in DSD to understand the functions, capabilities and limitations of this complex tool before introducing it to patients.

Cosmetic dentist, Dr Lewis Moore is trained in digital smile design software and is able to provide this service for patients having crowns, porcelain veneers or full mouth rehabilitation. Check out our before & after gallery for what to expect. Altneratively, book a smile makeover consultation with Dr Lewis Moore online.

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What is the Digital Smile Design process?

If you're interested in taking a more active role in designing your new smile, your dentist at Mount Lawley Dental will explain what the DSD process and cost involves and what to expect from each stage of your treatment.

Identifying your concerns

The first step in smile design is understanding which specific aspects of your smile you're not happy with and what you would like to change.

Cosmetic dentist, Dr Lewis Moore uses high-quality photography and an intraoral scanner to take images of your teeth and mouth and discuss what changes can be made. These images can then be imported to DSD software for analysis before being sent to the cermaist to craft your trial smile.

Collaborative smile design

The DSD tool will analyse your current smile and overlay baseline recommendations for the sizes, shapes and positions of teeth and the ideal relationship between the teeth, gums and lips, among other aspects.

You and your dentist can discuss the changes you want to make, using the DSD tool to modify the proportions of your smile and overlaying template teeth in a variety of shapes and forms.

Digital smile preview

Once you've decided on your preferred smile design, your dentist will show you realistic predictions of what your new smile should look like following the treatments discussed.

You may decide to make additional changes, or your dentist can send your approved design away to be printed to produce your trial smile.

3D trial smile

The final stage of Digital Smile Design is trying on a 3D wax-up that can give an idea of what your new smile should look like in reality.

Final adjustments can be made at this stage, or you can approve your finished design and begin your treatment plan.

Book a consultation today

Whatever changes you're considering making to your smile, the first step is a cosmetic dentistry consultation with a qualified and experienced dentist. Our dentists in Perth will listen to your concerns and examine your mouth so we can discuss suitable treatments.

At Mount Lawley Dental, we offer Digital Smile Design as an optional service for treatment planning using crowns, porcelain veneers and full mouth rehabilitation. To find out more about this technology or any of our services, call our friendly team today on (08) 9227 8777 or book an appointment online.

We welcome patients from Highgate, Inglewood, North Perth and all nearby suburbs. 

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References

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9469272/