title: The center of the incisive papilla for the selection of complete denture maxillary anterior teeth in 4 racial groups.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the use of the center of the incisive papilla as a guide for the selection of the proper width of maxillary dentures in 4 racial groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred sixty stone casts were obtained from impressions of the maxillary arch of white, black, mixed, and Asian subjects. The occlusal surfaces of the casts were photocopied and the images placed on a digitizer. The most anterior and posterior points of the papilla and cusp tips of the canines were digitized. Dentofacial Planner Plus software was used to calculate the distance from a line passing through the cusp tips of the canines to the center of the papilla, defined as the midpoint of the anterior and posterior points of the papilla. The selection error (in millimeters) due to the clinical application of the method of the incisive papilla was calculated and analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all studied racial groups, there was no coincidence between the center of the incisive papilla and the canine line. The utilization of the center of the papilla would lead to the selection of wider artificial teeth. In 24.9% of the white, 19.3% of the mixed, 32.9% of the black, and 15.5% of the Asian populations, errors greater than 4 mm would be present with the utilization of the papilla.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The method of the center of the incisive papilla is not accurate, but may aid in initial artificial teeth selection for the racial groups studied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Comprehensive Care, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. fabiana.varjao@case.edu
authors.forename: Fabiana Mansur
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Varjão
authors.forename: Sergio Sualdini
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.forename: João Neudenir Arioli
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Filho
mesh_terms: D003779:Denture Design; D003827:Denture, Complete, Upper; D006801:Humans; D003765:Models, Dental; D009811:Odontometry; D021362:Palate, Hard / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D044469:Racial Groups; D014093:Tooth, Artificial