Methods used to select artificial anterior teeth for the edentulous patient: a historical overview.

PURPOSE

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.

MATERIALS AND 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.

CONCLUSION

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.