Comparison of the width-to-height ratio in maxillary anterior teeth in different populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The width-to-height (W/H) ratio values of maxillary anterior teeth are parameters used in esthetic dentistry. However, a meta-analysis of studies evaluating these parameters in individuals from different countries, taking sex into account, is lacking.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine and compare the W/H ratio values seen in the maxillary anterior teeth of different populations.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A systematic search was performed using the PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases to identify English and non-English language articles reporting the golden ratio, golden percentage, tooth ratio, tooth size, W/H ratio, maxillary tooth width, maxillary tooth height, maxillary anterior tooth size, and dental esthetics. The titles, full text, and abstracts were scanned by 2 investigators independently to identify articles that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Using a meta-analysis software program, data extracted from each selected study were statistically combined using the random-effects model, and the weighted mean differences were calculated.

RESULTS

The search protocol resulted in a total of 987 articles, but only 15 articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included in the meta-analysis. While the sample size varied between 50 and 412 in the 15 analyzed studies, a total of 2304 individuals from 12 countries were evaluated. As a result of the evaluation of the general W/H means of the maxillary anterior teeth, the largest teeth were seen in Korea and Pakistan, and the general mean W/H ratios of the central, lateral, and canine teeth showed no statistically significant difference between sexes (P>.05).

CONCLUSIONS

As a result of the meta-analyses of the W/H ratios of the maxillary central, lateral, and canine teeth, the differences between populations were found not to be statistically significant.