Esthetic Interdisciplinary Treatment: An Effective Approach to Address Complex Short-Face Adult Cases

Traditional interdisciplinary treatment (IDT) for simultaneous correction of complex facial, smile, and dental problems in a so-called "shortface" adult patient can be extremely challenging. Such treatment typically has been based mainly on dental diagnosis with little or no consideration given to the proper correspondence of teeth position to the patient's jaws so as to enhance overall esthetics. Modern esthetic interdisciplinary treatment (E-IDT), however, is an overall esthetics-driven treatment planning approach based on a global diagnosis rather than primarily a dental diagnosis, while still considering the patient's health and function. This article, which features a clinical report, describes treatment of a woman with a short, square face who originally was contemplating cosmetic surgery for correction of her facial features. Instead, a nonsurgical E-IDT approach was taken to successfully and wholly resolve her multifaceted disorders. The article reviews conventional treatment options for short-face adult patients and explains modern E-IDT, which may involve a combination of orthodontic therapy, implant treatment, periodontal treatment, and prosthodontic correction.