Abstract

VERCOSA, Carolina Burni et al. Assessment of aesthetic impairment severity in cases of upper front teeth loss. Rev. Assoc. Paul. Cir. Dent. [online]. 2013, vol.67, n.1, pp. 27-33. ISSN 0004-5276.

The analysis of tooth loss has deserved attention, since there is no uniform criteria for their evaluation. This paper aims to analyze the guidelines for the evaluation of aesthetic damages related to upper front tooth loss, investigating how doctors and dentists evaluate tooth loss. Therefore, the following aspects were investigated: The degree of severity of upper front tooth loss - one, two, three, four, five, six teeth, two and three alternate teeth- and evaluate the severity of aesthetic damage related to tooth loss between the professional areas. The data collection was conducted by applying a protocol composed of eight photographs of the same individual, handled by the program Photoshop CS3, 2007, which simulate upper front tooth loss in different extensions (one, two, three, four, five, six teeth, two and three alternate teeth). The investigated sample evaluated these damages according to the French scale, which comprises seven degrees: very slight or insignificant, mild, moderate, medium, sufficiently important, important and very important. 30 doctors and 30dentists were interviewed. It was found that by the European method for evaluating the aesthetic damage more than half of all assignments severity among all groups were situated between 6 (25%) and 7(53%) degrees in a scale of seven degrees of increasing severity. Despite the aesthetic damages concept between doctor and dentists are similar, this study demonstrated a lack of criteria considering that for different aesthetics damages generated by the different damages, the aesthetic perception was high.

Keywords : Forensic Dentistry; Tooth Loss; Esthetics, Dental.