Authors: Mahmood Z

Abstract

Background and Objective: The maxillary anterior teeth are the key elements for dentofacial esthetics. A large number of patients seek dental care especially for anterior maxillary teeth due to any of the possible reasons. The study aims to determine the correlation between interalar width (IAW) and size of natural maxillary anterior teeth (NMAT) in a sample of Pakistani population for evaluating the reliability of use of nasal index as a guide in selection of artificial maxillary anterior teeth (AMAT).
Methods: Interalar width (IAW) measurements of 280 dental students were recorded directly from faces while intercanine width (ICWTTC, ICWDDC, ICWTTS) was measured from the stone cast and correlation was determined using computer software SPSS25.
Results: Results showed a significant correlation between nasal width and AMAT in the study sample. Using regression analysis the predicted values of size of natural maxillary anterior teeth of the entire
sample showed no significant difference between recorded and predicted values of intercanine width (ICWDDC).
Conclusion: It was concluded that use of interalar width directly to determine the size of six maxillary anterior teeth can lead to selection of appropriate sized maxillary anterior artificial teeth. The validity of use of IAW in selection of AMAT and making of esthetically pleasing dentures can thus be reliably predicted.

Keywords: Artificial teeth, Teeth selection, Esthetics, Pakistan, Interalar width, Completed dentures.