MESHSMOOTH: Controlling unwanted distortion when refining a 3D mesh

[indiancad]

I was looking into mesh refinement and found that increasing the smoothness level does not always improve the result. Sharp edges can become rounded, narrow features may lose their definition, and the overall shape can drift from the original geometry.

This becomes particularly important when the mesh represents a component with both smooth surfaces and features that must retain their shape.

For those who work with mesh-based models, how do you preserve critical edges and dimensions while increasing mesh smoothness? Do you adjust the smoothing settings, refine selected areas, or use another approach?