cosmetic
feature
by Scott Frey, DDS, and Louis Malcmacher DDS, MAGD
Aesthetic treatments to create a more youthful appearance have become increasingly popular and many adults are specifically seeking cosmetic enhancement of the lips and smile. However, deficiencies in dental volume frequently need to be corrected or camouflaged in order to restore peri-oral contours to a more youthful and dental aesthetic form. This case report is presented as an illustrative example of the challenges of re-establishing facial harmony and masking underlying dental problems to re-establish proper dental aesthetics using dermal fillers. The following patient presented for dental aesthetic therapy with a chief concern of a “jowly appearance,” and a comprehensive dentofacial assessment was performed. The oblique extra-oral view (Fig. 1) demonstrated the patient’s macro-aesthetic features with pertinent findings being: 1. Descent of the anterior cheek mass and prominent nasolabial folds which hide the upper teeth. 2. A “jowled” appearance with reduced definition of the jawline and mild volume loss in the pre-jowl sulcus lateral to the chin pad. 3. Downturned oral commissures and marionette lines which will prevent showing the dentition when she attempts to smile. 4. Reduced vermillion display of the lips resulting in improper lip and smile lines relative to the dentition.
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JANUARY 2013 » dentaltown.com
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown January 2013