On the relationship between crown form and clinical features of the gingiva in adolescents

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between the form of the crowns in the maxillary front tooth segment and (1) a group of morphological characteristics and (2) the thickness of the gingiva. 108 subjects devoid of symptoms of destructive periodontal disease were examined regarding, e.g., probing depth, thickness of the free gingiva, width of the keratinized gingiva and the contour of the marginal gingiva. From clinical photographs of the maxillary front tooth region, the width (at the apical third – CW) and the length (CL) of the crowns of the 6 front teeth were determined. A CW/ CL‐ratio was calculated for each tooth and averaged for each tooth region. The individual mean CW/CL‐ratio values for the central incisors were ranked. After correction for incisal attrition, the 10 subjects ranked highest and the 10 ranked lowest were selected as having either a long‐narrow (group N) or a short‐wide (group W) form of the crown of the tooth. The data for each of the examined parameters were averaged for each tooth region in each subject and mean values for subjects in groups W and N were compared using the Student t ‐test. Stepwise multiple regression analysis, including data from the whole sample, was performed for each tooth region with the thickness of the free gingiva as the dependent variable. The results from the analyses demonstrated that individuals with a long‐narrow form of the central incisors displayed, compared to individuals with a short‐wide crown, form (i) a narrow zone of keratinized gingiva, (ii) shallow probing depth, and (hi) a pronounced “scalloped” contour of the gingival margin. There was no significant difference between groups N and W with respect to the thickness of the free gingiva. The CW/CL‐ratio data revealed that a certain form of the crowns in the central incisors was accompanied by a similar form in the lateral incisor and canine tooth region. The regression analyses demonstrated that the thickness of the free gingiva in central incisors was significantly related to (i) the width of the keratinized gingiva, (ii) the buccolingual width of the crown and (iii) the presence of an interproximal gingival groove. In lateral incisors, the thickness of the free gingiva was associated with the probing depth at the buccal surface. No single variable was significantly related to the thickness of the gingiva in canines.