DEVORAH SCHWARTZ-ARAD, Editor
352 pages, 812 illustrations. $198. 2016.
Quintessence Publishing Co., Inc., 4350 Chandler Drive, Hanover Park, IL 60133.
(800) 621-0387; www.quintpub.com.
An esthetic smile is a critical element of success and happiness in every culture. This book transcends all boundaries by bringing together perceptive, educated, scientifically informed, and experienced dental clinicians and academicians from cultures and ethnic groups all over the world to share their expertise in creating esthetic faces and pleasing smiles. Even more noteworthy is that the book is entirely authored by highly accomplished women in dentistry. Every author shares her personal journey and philosophy, offering an inspiration to young women entering dentistry and a demonstration of our ongoing, dynamic transition from a male-dominated profession to one that values the feminine perspective in making beautiful smiles.
Each of the 15 chapters is beautifully illustrated, with extensive references. Here is a brief summary of the topics covered.
“Teeth and jaw posture behind the attractive smile: Orthodontic and orthognathic aspects”, by Dr. Kirsti Hurmerinta, discusses the skeletal position of the maxilla and mandible, anteroposterior positioning of the incisors, tooth-lip relationships, midline deviations, and maxillofacial surgical procedures for cleft and non-cleft patients.
“How to detect facial defects to create a perfect smile”, by Dr. Debora Ayala Walverde, presents a comprehensive analysis of the patient and the dentofacial complex, including the TMJs, muscles, and static and functional occlusion. This analysis, combined with concepts from the Digital Smile Design program, is used by the author for functional oral rehabilitation.
“Smile design”, by Dr. Saiesha Mistry, addresses every detail of the factors that impact smile design. This succinct explanation will provide valuable information for the new practitioner, as well as a comprehensive update for the experienced clinician.
“Esthetics and orthodontics: Alignment for a perfect smile”, by Dr. Chiori Hashiba, offers another cultural and clinical perspective on the components of smile design in esthetic orthodontic treatment. Two cases are presented in which lingual appliances were used to correct severely crowded dentitions with and without extractions.
Similar articles from the archive:
“Creating the smile with dental implants”, by Dr. Henriette Lerner, reviews the full-arch rehabilitation of a patient with a periodontally compromised dentition, using implants with immediate loading followed by prosthetic reconstruction for optimal esthetic results.
“Anterior conservative rehabilitation with composite resin”, by Dr. Lezize Şebnem Türkün, discusses the techniques involved in esthetic bleaching; adhesion procedures using composite resin materials; anterior tooth restorations, including matrix techniques; interdisciplinary restoration of the teeth and surrounding structures; and finishing, polishing, and maintenance of those restorations.
“Esthetic rehabilitation of endodontically treated anterior teeth”, by Drs. Naseem Shah and Veena Jain, covers internal bleaching, composite build-ups, direct and indirect veneers, composite core build-ups, direct and indirect posts, crown lengthening, orthodontic extrusion, crown fabrication, and soft-tissue management for teeth that have been severely fractured and endodontically treated.
“Adult orthodontics: Collapsed arch patients”, by Dr. Hyun Oh, addresses the roles of anterior guidance, arch symmetry, and occlusal-plane management in esthetic treatment planning. In cases of posterior bite collapse, all of these factors must be considered when designing comprehensive treatment involving both orthodontics and implantology.
“Full-mouth reconstruction and esthetic implant therapy”, by Dr. Miho Hayashi, describes the interdisciplinary treatment of a patient requiring maxillary-ridge augmentation, grafting, regeneration therapy, guided bone generation, maxillary implants with restorations, and orthodontic movement in the mandibular arch.
“Premature tooth wear and esthetic dentistry”, by Drs. Debora R. Vilaboa and Beatriz R. Vilaboa, covers the types of premature wear (abrasion, attrition, erosion, and abfraction), along with the roles of saliva and occlusion, differential diagnosis, remineralization, prevention, and treatment modalities for these problems, which can occur at all ages.
“A holistic approach to esthetics in prosthodontics”, by Dr. Meriting Thokoane, presents several cases involving small teeth, anterior tooth loss, or severe facial disfigurement after removal of a large nasal tumor. A pleasant facial appearance and smile were achieved in each patient using fixed or removable prosthodontic appliances.
“Dental ceramics: Classification and indications”, by Dr. Amélie Mainjot, describes the current classes of ceramic restorations and their properties, indications, fabrication methods, and problems. It makes an excellent review for practitioners who may not be familiar with the variety of materials used in today’s esthetic restorations.
“Horizontal bone augmentation: Achieving long-term predictable outcomes in implant placement”, by Dr. Evgenia Durnovo, discusses procedures for horizontal bone defect augmentation—including onlay bone grafts, guided bone regeneration, cancellous bone-block allografts, split-ridge expansion, and distraction techniques—to prepare an area for implant placement and integration.
“Facial esthetics after tumor/trauma-surgeries and congenital defects”, by Dr. Katalin Nagy, illustrates several fixed and removable prostheses for restoring facial and smile esthetics and function after disfiguring episodes, allowing these patients to return to normal life.
“Combined surgical procedures for improving the esthetics in moderate to severe bone deficiency in the anterior maxilla”, by the editor, Dr. Schwartz-Arad, describes the reconstruction of atrophic maxillary alveolar ridges using autologous bone grafting and dental implantation. Various methods of enhancing bone regeneration, combined with intraoral autologous onlay bone grafts or multitier intraoral boneblock grafts, are presented.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning not only how we perceive esthetics in a similar way across cultures, but also how assumptions made in my own American culture are not necessarily shared around the world. This book was a tour of esthetic concepts without the travel! It will be a valued resource for all dental practitioners and academicians who strive to create beautiful smiles for their patients.
REBECCA POLING, DDS, MSD
