Facial Esthetics - An Overview

Evaluation of facial esthetics is an integral part of orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning and it should comprehensively encompass a detailed in-depth analysis of macro-esthetics which deals with the face in all three planes of space, mini-esthetics which deals with the smile framework and micro-esthetics which deals with the teeth. Esthetic smile design is a multifactorial decision making process that allows the clinician to treat patients with an individualized, interdisciplinary approach. The indispensable components such as a consonant smile arc, smile symmetry, optimal lip line, minimal or no buccal corridors, a commissural line and maxillary frontal occlusal plane parallel to the pupillary line, a small smile index and harmoniously integrated dental and gingival components are indeed artistic guidelines to help orthodontists treat patients the esthetic way.