DSD App: the blueprint of your smile transformations

The DSD App by Digital Smile Design is a digital tool for dentists to create esthetic and functional smile designs that enhance patient communication. It facilitates collaboration among dental professionals and integrates with various dental technologies. The DSD App is a 2-dimensional tool for dentists that supports the initial study of a case and allows design modifications to the smile. It is an effective tool for:

- dentists to start analyzing and understanding a patient’s face

- communicating and motivating patients visually

- improving communication between the clinic and dental lab

As it is a 2D visualization tool that can be used for case acceptance, it is not a case planning or design software. It is a simulator that initiates the case study.

To learn how to really take advantage of the DSD App, please check out our DSD App Certification program if you want further on-demand training in how to use the app.

With the DSD App you will be able to perform a 2D Digital Smile Design for your patient. The App has 10 libraries of teeth that can be adjusted to the needs of your patient. The App also functions as a great communication tool that you can use with your patient to explain the desired outcome of their treatment.

With the DSD App you can study the face of your patients, observing the initial situation by tracing lines and curves that will help you understand the current condition.

You can also start to analyze the potential ideal case, tracing new lines and curves (also known as the smile frame) that will determine the ideal position, size, shape and proportion of the teeth and perioral areas for that patient.

Once you have drawn the lines and curves (smile frame) you will be able to create a simulation of the teeth to see a before and after.

To study the complete case and to be able to discuss a treatment plan, 3D tools are needed in which more photographs of the patient, video, STL models, radiographs and/or CBCT, digital articulators, etc. are used. To do this, we have the DSD Planning Center service in which all these functions can be developed to plan a case.

The DSD App is compatible with:

• iPad (Version 12.4 or above)
• MacBook (M1 series or above)

To download the DSD App onto your MacBook, you can do so through the iPadOS App Store page by clicking 'View in Mac App Store'.

The DSD App is an iPad application and can be downloaded from Apple App Store using your iPad. It is compatible with MacBook M1 series or above.

Any cases that were created on the former DSD App (discontinued in 2022) are no longer available.

The password can be changed from the DSD App login screen.

If you have followed this procedure and you still are not able to log in to the App, please contact our Patient Management Team at contact@digitalsmiledesign.com.

The password can be changed from the DSD App login screen.

If you have followed this procedure and you still are not able to log in to the App, please contact our Patient Management Team at contact@digitalsmiledesign.com.

For security reasons, we are not able to retrieve your password. In this case, please reset your password from the DSD App login screen.

If you have followed this procedure and you still are not able to log in to the App, please contact our Patient Management Team at contact@digitalsmiledesign.com.

For security reasons, we are not able to retrieve your password. In this case, please reset your password from the DSD App login screen.

If you have followed this procedure and you still are not able to log in to the App, please contact our Patient Management Team at contact@digitalsmiledesign.com.

The DSD App has a set of 10 teeth textures with color. We believe these teeth are an ample set to start the 2D DSD case design. These textures can be slightly modified by the clinician in terms of saturation, brightness and hue.

The DSD App comes with default tooth library silhouettes of teeth that can be adjusted and modified according to the needs of the case.

The tooth library silhouettes have textures to choose from: the teeth in the basic library (M-F library) have 10 textures so you can choose which best suits the light of the photo and the patient's needs. The donor libraries come with that donor's own texture.

Once the texture is chosen, you can modify the saturation, brightness and hue in order to adapt it as much as possible to the patient's photograph.

These silhouettes match the 3D natural tooth libraries that we use in the DSD Planning Center, and can then be worked on in the 3D software.

Please check out our DSD App Certification program if you want further on-demand training in how to use the app.

All the parameters and lines from the smile frame can be moved and adjusted according to your needs. In order to design consistently, we recommend that you follow our indicated protocol.

Each line/point/curve can be adjusted to the needs of the case. Some movements are made directly on the picture and for others it is necessary to use the tools menu. We recommend that you watch the video tutorial to identify how to do it and make the experience enjoyable.

Please check out our DSD App Certification program if you want further on-demand training in how to use the app.

The smile frame consists of the following lines and curves.

1. Real Midline (current patient situation)

2. Ideal Midline (desired future midline decided by the clinician)

3. Ideal Canine Guide

4. Smile Curve

5. Gingival Curve

6. Papilla Curve

7. Tooth Proportion of the 6 anterior teeth

The anatomical points used by the DSD App are:

1. Pupils

2. Glabella

3. Tip of the nose

4. Philtrum

5. Menton (chin)

6. Commissures

7. Real width of both central incisors

Yes, the two dotted lines in the smile frame identifies the area where the papilla should ideally be. These dotted lines identify the area between 50% and 30% from the cervical portion of the tooth. These dotted lines mark a standardized ideal of where the papillae should be in a healthy patient. We recommend that you use these lines as a reference and tailor the case to the patient's own unique needs.

The DSD App is purely 2D. As a result, there are no tooth movements. You can design your case simulating any movement or treatment that your patient needs. If your patient requires orthodontic treatment, you can simulate the end result by placing the designed tooth in the final position.

With the DSD App you will be able to make an initial study and simulation of the case. You would have to make a more in-depth study using more tools to be able to understand and develop a treatment plan for your patient. To be able to perform orthodontic movements you will need to use 3D software in which STL models, radiographs/CBCT, digital articulator, etc. can be used.

The DSD App simulation can be designed to simulate orthodontics but there will be no real tooth movement.

Yes, the DSD App does allow you to place the ideal teeth simulating either crown lengthening or gingivectomy.

The DSD App is an application for clinicians to perform their own designs. Currently, DSD does not offer DSD App Design services.

However, if you are a DSD Provider or DSD Clinic, DSD will always be available to design your 3D cases with the DSD Planning Center as part of your case submissions. Additionally, if you are a DSD Clinic this 2D design is also included with all Interdisciplinary cases.

DSD cannot evaluate or modify your 2D designs. However, you could submit your design whenever you order a DSD Planning Center product and it will be taken into consideration for the 3D design, as much as possible.

DSD cannot evaluate or modify your 2D designs. The DSD App is a tool for the use and execution of each individual dentist.

Please check out our DSD App Certification program if you want further on-demand training in how to use the app.

DSD does not provide design services for the DSD App. Please check out our DSD App Certification program if you want further on-demand training in how to use the app.

We recommend that you watch the tutorials to follow the step-by-step design process in the DSD App for a pleasant and successful experience.

At the very least, the DSD App requires a Frontal Facial Smile with maximum smile. You can also add additional photos but we recommend starting only with this photo.

The DSD App can only export 2D images. These images can then be used within Exocad in the Smile Creator module.

These images could be used for whatever function you need (to study a case, to communicate with a patient, to communicate with your dental lab.

3D cases have to be through our DSD Planning Center services.

Your design can be shared with whomever you decide. The design can be exported via email.

The simulation images can be shared with the patient, another colleague, your dental lab or whoever you think is appropriate.

There is a way to export directly from the DSD App, send by email or even make screenshots of each phase.

Please check out our DSD App Certification program if you want further on-demand training in how to use the app.

The images in the DSD App are an initial and basic case study. It is necessary to enter all the information into 3D softwares, study and analyze the files in order to decide on a treatment plan based on the findings.

In order to make final restorations it is necessary to go through a 3D (or analog) process after the 2D simulation.

Your design can be shared with whomever you decide. The design image can be exported via email.

Additionally, if your lab has the DSD App software, you will be able to share the entire case using the Teamwork feature.

Please check out our DSD App Certification program if you want further on-demand training in how to use the app.

For the 2D design on the DSD App to become a reality, it has to go through a complete digital or analog studio process.

Once the case has been studied and the clinical findings have been seen, if it is digital, the images from the DSD App would have to be imported into your lab’s 3D software and the images overlapped to be able to follow the chosen design and study what possibilities there are for treatment.

Please check out our DSD App Certification program if you want further on-demand training in how to use the app.

In the DSD App there are two types of libraries:

1. The M/F libraries where you can choose from a variety of 10 textures

2. The donor bookstores where you will find the teeth of some people who donated their smile (for example Christian Coachman). These libraries come with the donor's own texture, which you can modify slightly in terms of saturation, brightness, hue.

These libraries coincide with those we use in the DSD Planning Center in 3D software. Therefore, your case can be continued using the same library.

Please check out our DSD App Certification program if you want further on-demand training in how to use the app.

In 2D simulations, a lot of necessary information is missing to be able to study a case correctly: for example, more photographs of the patient, the video to see the dynamism of the face, the STL models, the x-rays or CBCT, the occlusion and articulation.

Therefore, 2D designs can be a good starting point to start thinking about the case, but it is necessary to enter the 3D world to locate the findings and make decisions about the ideal treatment for each patient. Once in the 3D world, although we have the lines drawn in 2D as a reference, it is possible that when the case is studied, the lines will have to be modified for reasons of biology, function and esthetics, although we always try to make it as similar as possible to your initial design.

Please check out our DSD App Certification program if you want further on-demand training in how to use the app.

Yes, you can add your logo. To add your logo, please go to the “Account” menu item. From this page, you can add your logo plus your Clinic name.

The more current the iPad the better. The DSD App is not compatible at this time with the screen size of an iPad Mini.

We do recommend that you use at least an iPad generation 7 as the oldest compatible model. The screen size of the iPad Pro can work but we do encourage you to take the patient photos with the iPhone instead of the iPad due to better resolution.

There is no minimum storage required for the DSD App to work. We recommend using an iPad with as much memory as you can afford. Your cases can be stored locally or in the DSD Cloud. If you store your cases on the Cloud, you will consume less local memory on the iPad.

You can choose to save information exclusively on your iPad. The App also allows you to save the patient case on DSD’s Cloud. One of the reasons to save the case on DSD’s Cloud is to be able to share it with team members.

Additionally, saving to the DSD Cloud may serve as a backup for the case. In the event that you lose your iPad, you can always recover your cases that were saved to DSD’s Cloud.

If you have previously saved a case to the DSD Cloud, you will be able to retrieve it. The only exception to this is if you had used the former version of the App (discontinued in 2022). In this case, those older cases cannot be retrieved.

The DSD App only designs 2D smiles. It does not create a 3D model of your patient’s situation. As a result, you cannot print a 3D mock up of your design.

2D designs are just images with analysis and simulations. Therefore it is not possible to generate a mock up with it.

To carry out a mock up with the DSD Planning Center, it is necessary to do an in-depth analysis of the case, locate the clinical findings and see all the treatment possibilities in a 3D software. Once this is done, the last step is to carry out a smile test drive or DSD Mockup, knowing that it will be clinically possible and all the steps required. The DSD Mockup involves an exhaustive study of the case so that when it is placed in the patient's mouth, it is not just an esthetic matter 'we don't know if it will be possible to fulfill'. It is something that we have already studied and analyzed, and we know the clinical disciplines involved to make it possible.

DSLR cameras take great photos. Using your iPad, you can also take patient photos and immediately start using the photos to perform your design. ​​

The ways to take photos will depend on the technology you have, the training your team has had, and the agility of your workflows.

You can take photos with a semi or professional DSLR camera and external portrait flashes (strobes + softboxes). In this case you will have to transfer the photos from the camera to the iPad to be able to design. Your photos will have a very high quality.

You can take your photos with an iPhone and an LED ring light. In this case, you will have to transfer the photos to the iPad to be able to design. Your photos will have good quality.

You can take your photos directly with the iPad camera and an LED ring light. In this case, you will have the photos directly on the iPad with easy access to them but the quality will be average.

It is much more convenient to use an iPhone to take patient photos due to the flexibility of the iPhone. Once the photos have been taken with an iPhone, they should automatically be copied to your iPad if you have iCloud syncing activated.

The quality of the cameras on iPhones is usually much higher than that of iPads. But it will depend on what you have at your disposal in the clinic and the effectiveness of your workflows.

No, the DSD App does not work on Android devices. It is an iPad exclusive application.

There is no current plan to create an Android DSD App.

The choice of the photography background is very personal.

The main thing is to have a background that is a neutral color and that does not shine so as not to reflect the light from the flash or LED light.

Many doctors choose a black background because it is 'easier to manage' and it is easier for photos to have a consistent background tone.

It is often said that black backgrounds are good for light skin and hair. But you can get great results with dark skin and hair too.

Pure white is harder to achieve and can result in a different 'type of gray' in each of your photos. It is often said that white backgrounds are good for dark skin and hair. But you can get good results with light skin and hair too. This depends on the preferences of each clinic.

This is a known bug with the DSD App and we’re working on resolving it. The current workaround is to use the iPad camera app to take the necessary photos and video of your patient before you start designing their smile. This way, you can simply access the photos from the Camera Roll from within the DSD App.

An alternative method may be to take your patient’s photos with your iPhone and they should be copied to your iPad via iCloud sync. In this way, from within the DSD App you simply choose to use any photo from your Camera Roll.