Your Vernon Invisalign® Provider
Dental Planning
Cosmetic dentistry entails more than just putting a veneer on a tooth or applying whitening gel and leaving it to sit. Your Vernon dentist will discuss your goals with you and evaluate your current smile. Then they must use the tools at their disposal to try to achieve your objectives.
The dentists at Cornerstone Dental Group - Dr Rex Hawthorne and Associates understand that your smile is a reflection of who you are, and how you communicate. So we know that there are a number of factors that need to be considered when embarking on this journey toward a straighter, brighter smile.
How Do Patient's Expectations Factor In?
The patient's goals and expectations are the most important factors that our dentists consider before beginning any treatment. We make an effort to comprehend our patients' primary complaints and concerns in order to guide our treatment plan toward a positive final result.
After a thorough assessment, your dentist will highlight treatment options and expected outcomes with you in order for you to make an informed decision about treatment. This allows you to give input and ask any questions that you may have.
With the help of dental technology such as the iTero scanner, our Vernon dentists can create digital renditions of our patient's smiles and even show them how their treatment will progress. This allows our patients to feel more confident in their treatment plans.
What are the factors dentists consider?
There are a number of things that your dentist will need to consider when mapping out your treatment plan and visualizing the end result. Some of these factors include:
Facial Aesthetics - From a visual standpoint, the overall evaluation of the smile must begin. Your smile's appearance is influenced by your facial features and proportions. Your dentist will examine your facial features for asymmetries. Asymmetry issues can be an indication of skeletal or growth and development issues, which may or may not affect the patient's smiles.
Tooth Position - Current tooth position is an incredibly important aspect that needs to be assessed. Without proper evaluation, this can lead to the dentist attempting to obtain ideal results unsuccessfully when the tooth or root is improperly angled or is in the wrong position.
Upper Lip Length, Lip Position, Mobility, and Symmetry - When it comes to the appearance of your smile, your lips are crucial because they define its boundaries. Overall lip mobility is simply the movement of the lips from their resting position to their most extreme position when the patient smiles spontaneously, and it is proportional to upper lip length. Because a significant portion of the patient population has asymmetry in upper and lower lip movement, the overall symmetry of the patient's lip mobility must be assessed. This can cause asymmetry in the patient's overall smile by displaying more teeth and/or gum on one side versus the other.
Incisal Edge Position - The incisal (front teeth) edge position must also be evaluated in relation to the surrounding tissues as well. Generally, your front teeth should be parallel to your pupils.
Midline - During the smile evaluation, the position of the teeth and the dental midline in relation to the facial midline must be assessed. In addition to the overall angle of the midline, it's critical to assess the relationship between the dental and facial midlines. Many people will notice even minor differences in the midline angle.
Tooth Proportions - Overall tooth proportions are another key and critically important assessment that must be made by your dentist during the initial examination.
Microesthetics - Your dentist needs to assess and discuss the final colour or shade you desire. Ideally, they will select a shade that is naturally pleasing but aesthetically enhancing. The dentist should also communicate to the lab technician about desired facial surface texture, overall incisal translucency, and additional tooth characteristics including incisal effects, embrasures, tooth shape, and variations in value and hue.