Page 17 - Amazing Smiles

figure 4 Factors that Determine How Your Smile Looks
figure 5
If you as a patient want to achieve a partic-
ular aesthetic look that you believe is correct for
your face, you must be able to communicate
clearly with your cosmetic dentist about your
smile and the teeth within your mouth. In order to
do that you must understand how teeth are
arranged and what terminology is used to
describe them.

The mouth consists of the upper (maxillary)
jaw and the lower (mandibular) jaw. The teeth of
each jaw are arranged in an arch and are referred
to as the upper (maxillary) arch and the lower
(mandibular) arch. The front teeth in both arches
from canine to canine (the 3rd tooth from the
midline) are called the anterior teeth. All the teeth
behind the canines are called the posterior teeth.
(figure 4)

When viewing an entire mouth we see that
the teeth are also divided into four groups or
quadrants. Viewed from the front, they are iden-
tified as the upper right quadrant, upper left quad-
rant, the lower right quadrant and the lower left
quadrant. (figure 5)

Using descriptive quadrant terminology
helps locate teeth in general areas of the mouth.
This quadrant terminology is used when giving
feedback to your cosmetic dentist.

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