Methods used to select artificial anterior teeth for the edentulous patient: a historical overview.
OBJECTIVE
Selecting artificial teeth for a denture is complex when there are no remaining natural teeth and no pre-extraction records. The aim of this paper is to review the methods used to select artificial anterior teeth for the endentulous individual.


METHODS
The review takes account of the majority of papers published during the last 100 years and is organized according to the methods used for determining artificial tooth form.


RESULTS
Several factors have been proposed as aids for artificial tooth selection, and numerous methods have been devised for the evaluation of reliable esthetic factors in determining artificial tooth form.


CONCLUSIONS
To date, no universally reliable method of determining tooth form has been found. The Williams classification (1914) is the most universally accepted method of determining anterior tooth form.
Sellen
P N
PN
Department of Oral and Dental Science, Bristol Dental School and Hospital, United Kingdom.
Jagger
D C
DC
Harrison
A
A
D003779:Denture Design / Q000266:history; D003824:Denture, Complete; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005260:Female; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009811:Odontometry; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists'; D014093:Tooth, Artificial / Q000266:history