Teeth arrangements for denture esthetics: perceptions of dentulous and edentulous individuals

Abstract

While bearing in mind that differing opinions on esthetic outcomes can emerge among dentists, patients and observers during the rehabilitation of edentulous patients, this study compares esthetic perceptions of and preferences for various anterior teeth arrangements for complete dentures among both dentulous and edentulous individuals. Two edentulous individuals were selected, and four maxillary anterior teeth arrangements (“Classic”, “Supernormal”, “Senile”, “Youthful”) were proposed. Photographs were evaluated by the patients, prosthodontists and dentistry predoctoral students, as well as edentulous and dentulous laypeople. In the cases of both patients, most respondents did perceive differences among the arrangements, with no differences among groups (male patient, P=0.353; female patient, P=0.387). Considering all respondents, the “Youthful” and “Classic” arrangements were understood to be the most attractive (33/48%), natural (34/51%), least artificial (34/50%), and the preferred (34/56%) smile for the male and female patient, respectively. Within each rater group, the “Classic” arrangement was rated as the least artificial (P=0.03) for the female patient. The “Senile” and “Youthful” arrangements were favored for the male patient, who preferred the “Senile” one. For the female patient, the “Classic” and “Supernormal” were favored, and she chose the “Supernormal” smile. The results highlight that esthetic perceptions and preferences can differ among dentulous and edentulous laypeople, dental professionals and patients. In addition, the same observer may have different opinions regarding tooth arrangements for different patients. Therefore, the patient´s opinion must be taken into consideration when determining the esthetic standards of smiles, and professionals should refrain from imposing their own esthetic preferences on patients.