The aesthetic smile: Diagnosis and treatment

As the public becomes increasingly concerned with looking younger and healthy, aesthetic considerations will become increasingly more relevant in dental treatment planning. As such, dentists must define the basic tenets of an aesthetic smile - extending that vision beyond simply "pretty teeth" to a concept whereby total dentofacial harmony is developed. Aesthetics is not simply a matter for restorative dentists - it uses restorative dentistry as one of the disciplines, but it is about beauty. The same rules that apply for a denture are therefore pertinent for crown and bridge and/or implants and must be applied in all aesthetic endeavors.