For Esthetics "Cuspid Zero"
Inside Dental Technology delivers updates on digital workflows, materials, lab techniques, and innovation in dental technology through expert articles and videos.
February 1, 2022
Volume 13, Issue 2, February 2022
Page(s): p. 2
Some words in our vocabulary are almost impossible to define. The American philosopher Charles Taliaferro said, "There may be indefinitely many things that exist for which we do not have any successful definition. Consciousness might be a candidate, insofar as some philosophers are right in thinking we may never have a good or at least problem-free definition." Ask a poet to describe love or maybe Neil deGrasse Tyson to explain science. In the end, we most likely would be left with more questions than specific answers. In dentistry, esthetics is our challenge. Encyclopædia Britannica defines aesthetics as "the philosophical study of beauty and taste. It is usually closely related to the philosophy of art, which is concerned with the nature of art and the concepts in terms of which individual works of art are interpreted and evaluated." Those words—philosophy, interpreted, and evaluated—are what leave the door open to "indefinitely many things."
Over the years, our incisal reference point—or using the centrals as a measuring point—has shifted to the cuspids. We are probably all familiar with the phrase "Cuspid at Zero," referring to the cuspid display during normal repose lip position. Because the lip dynamic can now be so easily altered, its role is mostly seen in the area of the centrals. Utilizing the cuspids or their lack of display during repose should help us to develop the horizontal reference length and plane of the maxillary arch. If the cuspid display is more than 1 mm in length past the reposed lip, the maxillary arch will appear too long. On the contrary, if the cuspids are -1 mm to -2 mm in repose, meaning 1 mm to 2 mm apical to the vermillion border, this is a sign that they can be lengthened. This reference point will help establish the horizontal plane from the length of the centrals to the posterior occlusal planes.
In the end, although defining a universal concept of esthetics may be challenging—and recognizing that our patients may have a differing view—our tools and evolving metrics will aid in more successful communication with our patients and more successful results.
Peter Pizzi, MDT, CDT
Editor-in-Chief
ppizzi@aegiscomm.com
