A clinical study to evaluate the correlation between maxillary central incisor tooth form and face form in an Indian population.

A study was performed to examine the correlation between maxillary central incisor tooth form and face form in males and females in an Indian population. The selection of prosthetic teeth for edentulous patients is a primary issue in denture esthetics, especially in the case of maxillary central incisors, which are the most prominent teeth in the arch. Two hundred dental students of Indian origin comprising 79 males and 121 females aged 18-28 years studying at Bapuji Dental College and Hospital were randomly selected as the study subjects. A standardized photographic procedure was used to obtain images of the face and the maxillary central incisors. The outline forms of the face and the maxillary right central incisor tooth were determined using a standardized method. The outline forms obtained were used to classify both face form and tooth form on the basis of visual and William's methods. The means were considered after evaluation by five prosthodontists, and the results were tabulated. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-squared test for association and Z-test for equality of proportions. A correlation greater than 50% was observed between tooth form and face form by the visual method, compared with one of 31.5% by William's method. There was no highly defined correlation between maxillary central incisor tooth form and face form among the male and female Indian subjects studied.