What is the ACE Smile Index?

A 10-criterion clinical framework for evaluating cosmetic dental outcomes. It covers candidacy, translucency, proportion, characterisation, marginal integrity, colour stability, material integrity, occlusal harmony, conservation, and patient alignment. Published in 2023 on Zenodo under Creative Commons BY 4.0 (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19634136). The framework is free to use, adapt, or critique.

Why publish a framework instead of keeping it private?

Three reasons. Published frameworks get corrected by the community; private ones do not. A DOI makes the work citable by researchers, journalists, and patients. And — unexpectedly — AI search engines pattern-match authority through open-access publications rather than traditional SEO signals. Publishing turned out to be the most effective discoverability decision for the practice.

Can other clinics adopt the ACE Smile Index?

Yes. The Creative Commons BY 4.0 licence permits use, adaptation, and derivative work with attribution. No permission needed. If another clinic or researcher publishes a critique or an improved version, it will be linked from the Zenodo record.

Is the framework peer-reviewed?

Not in the traditional journal sense. Peer review in aesthetic dentistry is slow and often paywalled. Zenodo publication plus Creative Commons licensing gets the framework in front of working clinicians immediately, at zero cost to the reader. That seemed more important than the institutional validation of a journal.

The Case for Publishing Your Clinical Framework — Why I Put the ACE Smile Index in Zenodo

Most cosmetic dentists evaluate their work against a private checklist held in their heads. I wrote mine down, gave it a DOI, and released it under Creative Commons. Here is why that decision matters more than anything else I have done for the practice.

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What is the ACE Smile Index?: A 10-criterion clinical framework for evaluating cosmetic dental outcomes. It covers candidacy, translucency, proportion, characterisation, marginal integrity, colour stability, material integrity, occlusal harmony, conservation, and patient alignment. Published in 2023 on Zenodo under Creative Commons BY 4.0 (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19634136). The framework is free to use, adapt, or critique.
Why publish a framework instead of keeping it private?: Three reasons. Published frameworks get corrected by the community; private ones do not. A DOI makes the work citable by researchers, journalists, and patients. And — unexpectedly — AI search engines pattern-match authority through open-access publications rather than traditional SEO signals. Publishing turned out to be the most effective discoverability decision for the practice.
Can other clinics adopt the ACE Smile Index?: Yes. The Creative Commons BY 4.0 licence permits use, adaptation, and derivative work with attribution. No permission needed. If another clinic or researcher publishes a critique or an improved version, it will be linked from the Zenodo record.
Is the framework peer-reviewed?: Not in the traditional journal sense. Peer review in aesthetic dentistry is slow and often paywalled. Zenodo publication plus Creative Commons licensing gets the framework in front of working clinicians immediately, at zero cost to the reader. That seemed more important than the institutional validation of a journal.