One of the most obvious trends in current prosthetic dentistry is the introduction of digital techniques. Of these, the techniques that offer the possibility of aesthetic prefiguration of the final prosthetic result are of particular interest to the dentist. The aim of this paper was to verify the applicability of the Digital Smile Design application, which is the most commonly, used aesthetic prefiguration application, an application designed for the dentate patient, to full edentulism. Two groups of full edentulous patients were formed: the first group, complete denture carriers, dissatisfied with the aesthetic aspects, that they wanted to improve in the new denture, and, the second group, newly bimaxillary full edentulous patients with high aesthetic expectations. Thus, on the first group, the tests were performed on the existing denture, and the second one with the maxillary occlusion template. However, the view of the final result offered the patients the chance to have a realistic picture of their desires regarding the shape, color, size of the teeth, which were inadequate in relation to age and facial typology. The use of this application also improves communication with the dental laboratory. In full edentulism, the current DSD technique can be used with some limitations and the use of it in this field needs more complex studies on larger groups of patients.
The aim of this study was to compare two computerized digital esthetic design methods (DSD and Visagismile) in order to properly choose the appropriate form of the maxillary frontal teeth for complete bimaxillary edentulous patients and to validate the use of these applications in complete edentulism. An online questionnaire was submitted to a group of 100 persons (dental doctors, dental medicine students and persons activating in other fields); the respective persons were requested to choose the form of maxillary frontal teeth for a group of four complete bimaxillary edentulous patients, whose esthetic design had been performed by using the two computerized progams. Following the respondents’ analysis of the esthetic previews elaborated for the four patients 60% of the total answers were in favour of DSD while the remaining 40% were in favour of Visagismile; these percentages are identical with the ones obtained on the basis of the answers given by dental doctors and dental medicine students. In case of the respondents activating in other fields the percentages were 66% in favour of DSD and 34% in favour of Visagismile. Based on the results of the study the two computerized methods were validated also for cases of complete edentulism but further studies to confirm this validation are still required. These two methods improve the dental doctor/patient communication and certainly provide a higher predictability of the esthetic results of prosthetic restorations not only for dentate patients but also in cases of complete edentulism.
Esthetics is the “new trend” in dental medicine as a natural consequence of the development of modern society, with implications in practice and training. Like any rule in art, but also within the medical field, esthetics must be known and addressed in relation to other medical or non-medical principles (dental cosmetic), respect the ethics rules. Aim. Literature study designed to focus on the current problems that modern dentistry is facing, in relation to esthetic requirements. The literature search strategy in electronic databases: EBSCO Data Base, Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source, Pub Med indexed articles, used Boolean Operators. As a conclusion, the dentist must be familiar with the differences between esthetic and dental cosmetic, must minimize the subjective component of the examination, identify the reasons of presentation, guide the patient in choosing the optimal treatment, including obtaining the desired esthetic results, within the ethical boundaries of the noble medical profession.
Aim. To identify the main facial features associated to facial attractiveness in women nowadays. Method. A descriptive study was conducted on a sample of 20 female public figures, very famous and successful women, most frequently actresses, singers or models, considered very beautiful nowadays. Their selection followed the analysis of several recent tops that aimed identifying most beautiful women, in which raters were lay persons. Data was collected by analyzing photos from frontal and lateral view, during rest position and smiling. Results. The persons analyzed registered diverse facial traits. Most obvious trends, encountered in more than 75% of them, included: Caucasian race; straight and long hair; average nasal tip protrusion; maxillary dental midline concordant to facial midline; a thicker lower lip compared to the upper lip; exposure of only maxillary incisors during smile; decreased or absent buccal corridor; maxillary central incisors of oval/rectangular shape; absence of maxillary teeth crowding. Other frequently encountered features were: American nationality; brown hair; eyes with medium size, almond shape, wide set, of green color; nose with an average width; face with a decreased lower third and a slightly convex profile; a thick lower lip and an average upper lip; exposure during smiling till the first molar, with a normal smile line. Conclusions. The public beautiful women nowadays register features that are generally associated to an increased facial attractiveness. Knowledge of trends in facial beauty is useful in dental practice, in order to understand better patient’s need in terms of esthetic expectations.
