A survey of edentulous patient preference among different denture esthetic concepts.
BACKGROUND
Despite the fact that solutions to functional problems are available, successfully restoring the appearance of an edentulous patient remains a challenge.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this survey was to determine if edentulous respondents could differentiate among three denture esthetic concepts and if there was an overall preference among the three.


METHODS
Six edentulous test subjects were selected based on age and smile criteria. One wax tooth arrangement was completed according to each of the three esthetic concepts for a total of three wax tooth arrangements per test subject. The three esthetic concepts followed were natural, supernormal, and denture look. Standardized full-face digital photographs were made of each arrangement (three) during maximum smile for each subject (six). These 18 photographs were included in a questionnaire. Respondents were asked questions about their preference among the three randomly ordered concept photographs for each of the six subjects. A total of 147 completed questionnaires were analyzed.


RESULTS
Ninety-six percent of respondents were able to differentiate among the three esthetic denture concepts. Natural tooth arrangements were preferred by 55% of the respondents, supernormal tooth arrangements were preferred by 19%, and the denture look arrangements were preferred by 26%.


CONCLUSIONS
Within the limitations of this survey, the questionnaire respondents differentiated between the three esthetic denture concepts. The tooth arrangement most closely resembling the anatomical average was selected by 55% of the respondents. Preference for a particular concept changed when responses to each test subject set were considered individually. Demographic factors do not significantly affect patient preference.


CONCLUSIONS
Three esthetic concepts for complete denture construction have been differentiated. Questionnaire respondents preferred appearances that are far from the anatomical average 45% of the time.
Waliszewski
Michael
M
Marquette University School of Dentistry, Milwaukee, WI, USA. Michael.waliszewski@mu.edu
Shor
Alexander
A
Brudvik
James
J
Raigrodski
Ariel J
AJ
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003824:Denture, Complete / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology*