RESEARCH ARTICLE
New Classification of Crown Forms and Gingival Characteristics in Taiwanese
Yu-Hsiang Chou1, Chi-Cheng Tsai1, *, Jen-Chyan Wang1, Ya-Ping Ho1, Kun-Yen Ho1, Chuen-Chyi Tseng2, *
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2008Volume: 2
First Page: 114
Last Page: 119
Publisher ID: TODENTJ-2-114
DOI: 10.2174/1874210600802010114
Article History:
Received Date: 4/1/2008Revision Received Date: 25/3/2008
Acceptance Date: 17/9/2008
Electronic publication date: 28/11/2008
Collection year: 2008

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Objectives:
The aim of the investigation was to examine the forms of the crowns in the maxillary anterior tooth segment and corresponding gingival characteristics among healthy Taiwanese subjects.
Materials and Methods:
The crown width at the apical third (CW), length (CL), gingival angle (GA) and the interdental papilla height were assessed from the diagnostic stone model using a calibrated periodontal caliper. A CW/CL-ratio was calculated for each tooth and averaged for each tooth region. Gingival thickness (GT) and width of keratinized gingiva (WG) were measured clinically.
Results:
The cluster analysis revealed 3 classifications of crown forms: narrow (N), compound (C) and square (S) types. There was a significant difference among the 3 classifications with respect to CW/CL-ratio, GT, and WG (p < 0.0001).
Conclusions:
The results demonstrated varied crown forms and corresponding gingival characteristics in Caucasian and Taiwanese. The new classifications hinted that there was a polymorphism in different races and could be a valuable esthetic guideline and reference for anterior tooth rehabilitation, including various periodontal and restorative treatments and anterior implant placement procedures in Taiwanese.