Glossary
Words around a cosmetic consult
Short definitions for words around a cosmetic consult. Some are what patients say. Others are lab and paperwork terms, including a Business Associate Agreement, which is between the practice and a vendor — not something a patient brings from social media.
- Aligner therapy
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Orthodontic treatment using a series of removable clear trays to move teeth incrementally. Outcome previews communicate the destination of alignment treatment; the tray sequence and biomechanics remain the clinician's plan.
- Business Associate Agreement (BAA)
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A HIPAA agreement between a covered entity (such as a dental practice) and a vendor that handles protected health information on its behalf. A vendor offering a BAA process signals it will accept the contractual duties that come with touching patient images.
- Digital smile preview
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Any software-rendered preview of a proposed smile shown before treatment, including two-dimensional simulations and three-dimensional mock-ups. Best practice labels previews as simulations and keeps an approved image as the shared reference for patient, clinician and lab.
- E-max
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A brand of lithium disilicate glass-ceramic used for veneers, crowns and inlays. Prized for translucency and strength at thin widths, which makes it a common choice for cosmetic smile work. When patients say they want an "E-max smile", they are usually describing the bright, translucent look the material can produce — a lab term, not a treatment plan.
- Golden proportions
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A classical guideline for smile aesthetics in which the apparent widths of the front teeth follow repeating ratios as the smile moves away from the midline. Used as a starting point for smile design rather than a strict rule — faces vary, and modern practice treats the ratios as one input among several.
- Hollywood smile
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A colloquial term for a bright, even, often symmetry-heavy cosmetic smile, usually built from veneers or crowns across the visible arch. It is a style goal rather than a clinical protocol, used so a patient can compare a brighter look with a more natural one before committing.
- Shade guide
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A physical (or digital) palette of tooth-coloured tabs used to record a patient's current shade and to agree a target shade. Classic systems arrange tabs by value and hue; digital workflows increasingly supplement the tab with photographs matched under controlled light.
- Smile design
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The planning discipline behind a cosmetic case: choosing tooth proportions, shapes, shades and gingival contours to fit the patient's face and goals. Digital smile design tools often include simulation, drawing and measurement features; the simulation is the picture of the plan, while the plan itself balances aesthetics with occlusion and function.
- Smile simulation
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A photorealistic preview of a proposed cosmetic outcome rendered onto a photograph of the patient's own face. A simulation communicates the aesthetic goal during the consult; it is not a prediction of the clinical result, which depends on biology, preparation and materials.
- Whitening levels
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Discrete brightness steps offered in a whitening protocol or simulation: moderate, strong, and max. Presenting levels side by side helps patients choose an achievable endpoint on their own enamel instead of a filtered ideal.
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