The author presents the sequelae of labio-maxillo-palatal clefts in the specific framework of one surgeon’s professional experience in an overseas community; in terms of their surgical anatomy, showing the palatal, maxillary, and labio-nasal sequelae in order, emphasizing the intimate relationship of the lesions, which are most intricate in cases of complete labio-palatal clefts, and also the necessity of the treatment team’s taking a global approach in the techniques of facial surgery so the results will be well adapted to the social needs of patients.

Researchers conduct their studies of the mandible by placing it in the “exploitable” framework of systemic biology. They investigate an anomaly of its development, promandibulia, or mandibular prognathism, within this context, by studying molecular and cellular reactions at the level of their constitutive elements and their integration during the course of mandibular development. Here we propose a new etiological and therapeutic approach for this malformation.

If thickening of gingival soft tissue and root coverage are indicated, these two procedures should be performed prior to starting orthodontic treatment. The decision to initiate these treatments can be made only based on a clinically exact and reproducible diagnosis. The case described in this article is that of a 53-year-old woman presenting Miller Class III gingival recessions from 13 to 23 and 32 to 42. Because of this impairment, she needs orthodontic treatment. The patient’s periodontal biotype is thin.

The objective of the surgery discussed in this article is both to thicken the periodontium of the patient and to promote coverage of the recessions. To achieve these two objectives, we have chosen the modified “envelope” technique with insertion of connective tissue.

The 18 month post-operative results show an excellent rate of root coverage and a significant esthetic improvement of the gingiva.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, dentists ‘‘straightened’’ the teeth of adolescents and adults. Angle had suggested that earlier treatment would be advisable but presented very few examples of this approach. In 1912, E. A. Bogue was the first orthodontist to publish articles advocating treatment for children before they reached the age of six by widening arches to create diastemas between temporary teeth and, above all, by eliminating mouth breathing.

Just 25 years after Pierre Fauchard published his pioneering work, The Surgeon Dentist or Treatise on the Teeth in 1728, James Lind, a Scottish physician, presented the results of his study on scurvy, the first clinical experiment in the history of medicine, which provided the methodological foundation for modern medicine.

Behavioral therapy (or myofunctional re-education) acts on the central nervous system and not directly on facial tissues like other orthodontic treatment. This therapy was developed in two stages: first, orthodontists identified the role played by muscular pressure on the shape of dental arches (Blandin4, 1836), then by the elaboration of remedial treatment of malfunctions as well as the elimination of parafunctions (Johnston20, 1938). The School of Stomatology introduced these treatment methods in France in 1950.

In general, the smile that orthodontists try to create at the end of treatment satisfies objective functional criteria as well as subjective esthetic criteria.

It’s obvious that in today’s society, a smile plays an important role in nonverbal communication: restoring or enhancing this smile is, in fact, the main reason patients consult their orthodontists.

After reviewing the literature, we were able to identify various factors involved in the perception of a smile and to underscore the esthetic connection between the smile and the face.

Is there a relationship between the smile and facial harmony?

What are the objective criteria that allow us to discern whether a smile is pleasant or not?

Our study confirmed that the esthetics of the face correlates with the perception of the smile and that the factors discussed in the literature pertaining to this correlation are valid.

However, the study has also made it possible to clarify the respective influence of various factors as they relate to a pleasant smile, an unattractive smile or an unsightly smile. Therefore, our study has shown that objective functional criteria are involved in the entirely subjective esthetic realm of a smile.

The relationship between English and French is complicated by the abundance of false cognates found in each language. The word evidence, first appears in the XIVth century, in both French and English literature and means: that which becomes visually apparent (from the Greek εἴδω, or from Latin ex-videre “to see”); that which is perceived; that which is grasped by the mind; that which is obvious, indisputable, clear, patent.