Cosmetics and the esthetic patient and laboratory communication.

With increasing consumer awareness of the innovative procedures available for cosmetic dentistry, this area of practice is growing rapidly and has become an excellent source for patient referrals. Unfortunately, it can also be a large source of stress for the practitioner. Esthetics has been described by The Pocket Oxford Dictionary as "the philosophy of beautiful"; its perception varies from individual to individual. In the field of dentistry, there are criteria which define one tooth as being more esthetic than another and one individual's smile as more pleasing than another. However, that which is esthetically pleasing to the clinician may not be esthetically pleasing to the patient.