Relationships between different tooth shapes and patient's periodontal phenotype.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE The purpose of the present study was to establish whether any correlation exists between tooth shapes and patient-related factors such as gingival and periodontal characteristics. MATERIAL AND METHODS Clinical measurements, including the width and the height of maxillary central incisor crowns, the apico incisal height of the keratinized mucosa (KM), the buccal gingival thickness (GT), the depth of the sulcus (SD), the bone-sounding depth (BS) and the height of the interproximal maxillary central papilla (Ph), were investigated in 50 healthy individuals. These individuals were then divided into three groups based on the shape of their maxillary central incisor crowns: triangular; square; or square-tapered. The three groups were analyzed to determine any significant differences among the groups in the values obtained for clinical measurements. RESULTS There were no significant differences among the three groups in terms of the SD (p = 0.11) or the BS (p = 0.54), whilst statistically significant differences were observed for the KM (p < 0.001), the GT (p = 0.012) and the Ph (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION The results of this study indicate that different tooth shapes are associated with significantly different values for the extent of the KM, its bucco-lingual thickness and the height of the interproximal maxillary central papilla.