Evolution of Aesthetic Dentistry.

One of the main goals of dental treatment is to mimic teeth and design smiles in a most natural and aesthetic manner, based on the individual and specific needs of the patient. Possibilities to reach that goal have significantly improved over the last decade through new and specific treatment modalities, steadily enhanced and more aesthetic dental materials, and novel techniques and technologies. This article gives an overview of the evolution of aesthetic dentistry over the past 100 y from a historical point of view and highlights advances in the development of dental research and clinical interventions that have contributed the science and art of aesthetic dentistry. Among the most noteworthy advancements over the past decade are the establishment of universal aesthetic rules and guidelines based on the assessment of natural aesthetic parameters, anatomy, and physiognomy; the development of tooth whitening and advanced restorative as well as prosthetic materials and techniques, supported by the pioneering discovery of dental adhesion; the significant progress in orthodontics and periodontal as well as oral and maxillofacial surgery; and, most recently, the implementation of digital technologies in the 3-dimensional planning and realization of truly natural, individual, and aesthetic smiles. In the future, artificial intelligence and machine learning will likely lead to automation of aesthetic evaluation, smile design, and treatment-planning processes.

Interdisciplinary dentofacial therapy (IDT): a comprehensive team approach.

Modern dentistry, with its various disciplines, has an exciting and unmatched potential to enhance the overall quality of life for our patients. In this environment one of the greatest challenges for clinicians is to properly utilize this vast potential. It can be very difficult to consistently establish health and physiological occlusal relationships in patients with significant dental, periodontal, dentoalveolar, temporomandibular, and/or skeletal problems. This task is further complicated by ever-increasing patient and provider demands for results with optimal dentofacial aesthetics and long-term stability. Interdisciplinary Dentofacial Therapy (IDT) is a proven diagnostic and clinical pathway for consistently maximizing patient outcomes in these complicated areas. Within a climate of increasing scientific and technological advances in dentistry, today's dental professional must study continuously to stay abreast in one area, let alone in all of them. The responsibility to the patient, however, is to utilize fully the extensive options that the profession can provide. As stated above, a proven treatment philosophy for accomplishing this is called Interdisciplinary Dentofacial Therapy, or IDT. When properly performed, IDT can produce unparalleled professional satisfaction and camaraderie by reaching higher levels of patient care through optimal coordination of knowledge and skills in the various disciplines. In addition, IDT can consistently produce optimal treatment results while simultaneously producing profound practice management, time management and marketing benefits for practitioners. This paper briefly describes these benefits while defining the philosophies and hallmarks of IDT. It will also give insight into the implementation of IDT and why it will be even more necessary and valuable in the future than it is today.