Inability to relate tooth forms to face shape and gender

Abstract

This study aimed to examine whether there exists a gender-dependent correlation between the inverted face shape and that of the upper central incisor as the literature often suggests. Standardized portraits and anterior tooth photographs of 204 dental students were made. Standardized enlargements of facial outlines and of the upper right incisor outlines were traced. They were classified into three different shapes: tapered, ovoid and square-shaped. Ten dentists determined twice - with an intervening interval of 3 wk - the gender of the students on the basis of the anterior tooth photographs. Tooth and face shapes could be classified as tapered (25% and 27%, respectively), ovoid (39% and 41%, respectively) or square-shaped (36% and 32%, respectively). A significant correlation could be shown between face shape and gender, but not between tooth shape and gender. The dentists were correct about the gender of the subjects in 47 to 59% of all cases. The reproducibility of their judgments varied between 54% and 77%. The theory that the tooth shape should correspond to the inverted facial shape could therefore not be confirmed. In addition it could be shown that the participants were not capable of determining a subject's gender from intraoral photographs alone.