Preface

The teeth play an important role in daily living, being involved in chewing and digesting food and speaking. They also have an integral role in facial esthetics. Well-shaped and aligned white teeth are considered essential to an appealing smile and have a high impact on self-esteem, school or job performance, and other areas of life.

Oral health issues, which range from cavities to oral cancer, cause different degrees of pain and disability. Oral diseases have a high prevalence; nearly 100% of the adult population has at least one cavity.

Edentulism, the partial or total absence of teeth, has debilitating consequences and is considered the ultimate stage of oral suffering. Therefore, maintaining proper oral hygiene is crucial to prevent dental issues. Preventive methods include proper oral hygiene, regular dental checkups and cleaning, a healthy diet, limited sugar intake, and no smoking. Routine dental checkups help detect the early stages of dental illness. Most oral diseases are preventable and treatment in the early stages is easier, cheaper, and faster than at the later stages of disease.

To achieve a perfect balance between function and esthetics, dental treatments have evolved to be capable of solving pretty much any dental problem with a high rate of success. Dental treatment, depending on the oral health issue, involves using a wide range of materials, including smart materials. Current available dental techniques include lasers, microscopy, and 3D bioprinting as well as digital solutions that are gaining popularity. Nowadays, even edentulism is a condition that can be treated effectively by means of various modern prosthetic devices or dental implants.

This book includes twenty-one chapters and discusses different aspects of human teeth function and esthetics, including dental anatomy and morphology, smile design, oral health and prevention of oral disease, prosthetic solutions for both functional and esthetic issues, advances in dental implants and orthodontics, and future perspectives in dentistry.

#### **Lavinia Cosmina Ardelean**

Department of Technology of Materials and Devices in Dental Medicine, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania

> **Laura-Cristina Rusu** Department of Oral Pathology, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania

Section 1
