[Consideration of the shape of the teeth in facial hyperdivergency]

The study examines how the shape of the teeth is taken into account in the context of facial hyperdivergency. One aim was to check out the widely-held belief that the hyperdivergent patient has long teeth.

Our study found no link between the shape of the teeth and facial hyperdivergency, thus confirming the results in the literature. We examined the issue of how to characterize dental shapes. We found three diversely-appreciated types of shape: rectangular, triangular and ovoid. Individualized management of tooth shape harmony enables the clinician to envisage recontouring the shape of a patient's teeth using interproximal enamel reduction. The anatomical demands of this type of tooth remodeling favor the less popular ovoid and triangular shapes. However, following treatment, they tend to adopt a more widely-accepted rectangular shape.

Using a spreadsheet, we built a computational tool to perform the dimensional quantitative diagnosis and made drawings in order to approach the shapes from a qualitative point of view. This method enables us to determine the areas to be recontoured and to obtain a preview of our treatment objectives. The result is harmonious with respect to shapes, proportions and positions as well as from a functional and periodontal point of view.