EVALUATION OF GOLDEN PROPORTION OF UPPER ANTERIOR TEETH IN DENTAL STUDENTS OF HAMEDAN DENTAL SCHOOL- IRAN (2003-2004)

Introduction: The width ratio of teeth is very important for esthetic of maxillary anterior teeth. Some dentists utilize golden proportion (1.618) as a main guidance to establish a harmonious proportion. Although the proportion has been used frequently in dentistry, it has rarely been studied, especially among Iranian population. The aim of this study was to evaluate golden proportion in a group of Iranian dental students, in Hamedan. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 165 dental students (79 female and 86 male) in Hamedan Dental School-Iran. The inclusion criteria for case selection was lack of rotation, tilt, spacing, caries, restoration or missing in anterior maxillary teeth. Photographs of the subject’s teeth were taken from frontal view. The apparent width of the teeth were measured by a digital caliper and width ratio’s of central to lateral, lateral to canine and canine to first premolar were calculated. Then data were analysed by student t-test, t-paired t-test and one sample t-test. Results: In this study the mean ratio of central to lateral, lateral to canine and canine to first premolar width on the right side were 1.489±0.153, 1.200±0.153, 1.432±0.271 respectively and 1.525±0.151, 1.235±0.170, 1.477±0.368 for the left side. Conclusion: In comparing the results and golden proportion (1.618), it was concluded that golden proportion was absent in a high percent of the subjects. Comparing the mentioned ratios showed that central to lateral width was the closest ratio to golden proportion and lateral to canine width had the lowest similarity to golden proportion. In addition, it was showed that there was not a significant difference between male and female in apparent width ratios, in maxillary antetior teeth. This study indicated that golden proportion can not be assumed as a constant ratio between the apparent widths of maxillary anterior teeth in all conditions. Key words: Dental width, apparent width, esthetic consideration, golden proportion.