Orthodontic treatment planning using lip tracer

A method of designing smile line for orthodontic treatment of a patient using a computer workstation, comprising the steps of:

• a. placing a digital facial photograph of said patient in a first window on screen display of said workstation;
• and a digital copy of said facial photograph in a second window on display of said workstation;
• b. marking area inside lips to be cut-out from said facial photograph in said second window;
• c. placing a virtual three dimensional model of said patient's teeth in said first window behind said facial photograph in a manner such that said virtual three dimensional model is synchronized with said facial photograph;
• d. synchronizing placement of said patient's teeth in said virtual three dimensional model with said facial photograph of said patient in said first window;
• e. performing cut-out of said area inside said lips marked in step b. for removal from said facial photograph in said second window;
• f. simultaneously performing cut-out of same area inside lips from said facial photograph in said first window;
• thereby making said teeth from said virtual three dimensional model of said patient visible along with said facial photograph in said first window modified with said cut-out;
• g. examining said teeth from said virtual three dimensional model of said patient in conjunction with said facial photograph in said first window;
• and
• h. determining an amount of intrusion or extrusion required to align the edges of the upper teeth against the lower lip by superimposing the facial photograph over the three dimensional model of the teeth.