Abstract

GOMES, Vanderlei Luiz; GONCALVES, Luiz Carlos; LUCAS, Bárbara de Lima  and  PEREIRA, Mariana Carneiro. Comparison of the width of artificial and natural anterior teeth. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) [online]. 2011, vol.59, n.1, pp. 59-63. ISSN 1981-8637.

OBJECTIVE: This study verified whether the combined width of the six artificial anterior maxillary teeth manufactured and marketed by VIPI (Dental Vipi Ltda., Pirassununga, Brazil), was similar to that of the respective natural teeth of young, dentate Brazilians. METHODS: Forty-nine dentate, healthy students (20 males and 29 females) participated in this study. Dental stone casts were made for measuring the combined width of the six anterior maxillary teeth with a flexible millimeter ruler. The combined width of the natural teeth was compared with that of the artificial teeth reported by the manufacturer in the selection chart. RESULTS: The mean anterior outside distance between the distal surfaces of the maxillary canines was 53.544 mm (standard deviation 3.525). The combined width of the artificial anterior teeth lies within the 40-50 millimeter range. CONCLUSION: The artificial teeth of the studied brand were substantially smaller than the natural teeth of the study sample.

Keywords : Artificial tooth; Dental esthetics; Dental prosthesis.