Incisal translucency of vital natural unrestored teeth: A clinical study

Introduction: Understanding the distribution of incisal translucency will provide clinicians a guide to use this knowledge to improve the esthetic replication of anterior restorations. The aim of this study is to investigate the distribution of incisal translucency of unrestored vital natural maxillary central, lateral, and canine vital teeth from a stratified population in different age, gender, and race. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 subjects were recruited for this study. Six subjects with equal gender balance from four racial/ethnic groups (White, Black, Asian, and others) were recruited from each of the following age groups: 18 to 29 years, 30 to 39 years, 40 to 49 years, 50 to 59 years, and 60 to 85 years. Potential subjects were clinically screened to determine if three specific anterior teeth (maxillary central incisor, lateral incisor, and canine) were non-restored, natural permanent teeth free from external staining or bleaching. A digital imaging and shade analysis device was used to measure tooth translucency. Results: Statistically significant interaction (p < 0.001) was found for the groups. The interaction between race and gender was not statistically significant (p = 0.485). However, the interaction between race and age (p = 0.03), age and gender (p = 0.015), and among age, race, and gender (p < 0.001) was found statistically significant according to the analysis of variance test results. The interaction between race and gender was not statistically significant (p = 0.485). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Understanding the distribution and types of incisal translucency will provide clinicians a guide to use this knowledge to improve the esthetic replication of anterior restorations.