The mandibular dental arch: part II. Effects of lower incisor position on the soft tissue profile.

It has been demonstrated that there are reliable methods of predicting the ultimate position of the lower incisor and the soft tissue. However, the concept of treating this tooth to any one number for every individual was not supported by the evidence. An optimum system would allow the clinician to select and combine factors from all methods and arrive at a balance of esthetics, function, and stability, obtaining a suitable compromise for his individual patient. This is undoubtedly attempted intuitively by many experienced clinicians.