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Home » Blog » 6 Photos Every Dentist Should Send With a Cosmetic Cases!

6 Photos Every Dentist Should Send With a Cosmetic Cases!

May 8, 2021 by musfeldt

A smile design has so many factors that need to be considered both esthetically and functionally.  The functional issues are most often determined on the articulator but photos are necessary in determining the esthetics. Whether your sending records for a diagnostic wax up or the case has been prepped and the wax up has been transferred to the mouth, these are six photos that should be sent to the lab.  Below I will show each photo and what I as a dental technician am looking at and for with each one.

Full Face Smile Photo

With the full face smile photo I am trying to determine:

  1. Is there a midline cant?
  2. Is there an incisal cant?
  3. Facial asymmetry (Eyes, Earlobes, lip canting, chin deviation, etc.)
  4. Buccal corridor
  5. Gingival architecture

Chin to Nose Smile

The chin to nose smile helps determine:

  1. Teeth length (too long, too short, ideal) 
  2. Gingival architecture (Is crown lengthening beneficial)
  3. Buccal corridor (Fill, reduce, maintain)

Full Face Reposed

The full face reposed shot helps determine:

  1. Tooth exposure in the rest position and whether it is appropriate for the patients age
  2. Do lower teeth show or not

Profile Smile Photo

The profile smile photo determines:

  1. The labial position of the teeth in the face (Flared, Reclined, Ideal)

Left Lateral View (Retracted or Not)

The left lateral view is used to determine:

  1. Used to assist in articulation 
  2. Used to assess tooth shape and postion

Right Lateral View (Retracted or Not)

The right lateral view determines:

  1. Used to assist in articulation 
  2. Used to assess tooth shape and position

These are the photos I ask for with every case, because they help me determine where I would like to go with the design of a cosmetic smile design.  These photos help spur conversations between the dentist and dental technician that assist in the best result for the patient.

Filed Under: For the Doctor, For the Patient, For the Technician Tagged With: smile design

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Hello, my name is Luke Musfeldt and I've been involved in the dental technology field for over thirty years. I got started at the early age of thirteen helping my mother out on the … Read More about About Us

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