A visual method of determining marginal placement of crowns: Part II. Marginal placement of posterior crowns

In the second part of a two-part study on the necessity for subgingival crown placement, photographs of 527 Saudi citizens (285 men and 242 women) with natural and exaggerated smiles were made. The photographs revealed that a substantial percentage of the participants did not exhibit the gingival tissue of their posterior maxillary teeth (41.7% to 70.2%) and mandibular teeth (92.8% to 98.5%) during a natural smile. A comparison of the posterior tooth visibility of male and female subjects revealed statistically significant differences in the following situations: the gingival section of maxillary first molars, the occlusal section of the mandibular first molars, and the occlusal section of the second premolars during a natural smile, and the occlusal section of the mandibular first and second premolars during an exaggerated smile. Therefore, an analysis of each individual's smile should be included among the factors considered when placement of coronal margins is determined.