The nose shape as a predictor of maxillary central and lateral incisor width.
OBJECTIVE
One of the primary aspects of complete denture prosthodontics is determining the correct proportion for the maxillary central incisor width to the lateral incisor width. It has been suggested that the anatomy of the patient's nose is a reliable guide for deciding this ratio. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis about the relationship between the shape of the nose and the proportion of the central incisor width (CIW) to the lateral incisor width (LIW).


METHODS
The CIW and LIW from a total of 138 subjects (73 males, 65 females) were measured intraorally. The interalar width (IAW) and the width of the root of the nose (WRN) were measured on standard photographs of the subjects. Spearman's rho test was used to analyze the correlation between the proportions of the CIW to the LIW and the IAW to the WRN. The Mann-Whitney Utest was applied to test for any possible gender differences.


RESULTS
The IAW, the WRN, and the nose angle (NA) were statistically significantly wider in male subjects than in female subjects. The correlation between IAW/WRN, NA, and CIW/LIW was statistically significant only in female subjects. In the general population, the only statistically significant relationship was between CIW/LIW on the left side and IAW/WRN.


CONCLUSIONS
Within the results of the IAW, WRN, and NA measurements, we suggest that males have wider, more triangular-shaped noses than females. The proportion of IAW to WRN seems to be a reliable guide for deciding the proportion of the maxillary central incisor width to the lateral incisor.
Sülün
Tonguç
T
Department of Removable Prosthodontics, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey. tongucsulun@yahoo.com
Ergin
Ugur
U
Tuncer
Necat
N
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla; D009666:Nose / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D015588:Observer Variation; D012737:Sex Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric